Koko: Duterte will have final say on PDP-Laban senatorial slate

President Rodrigo Duterte will have the final say in the senatorial lineup of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said Monday.

Pimentel said he and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez will meet after the Holy Week to discuss the nominees to the slate which they will present to the President, who sits as chairman of the party.

“Nothing is final because we will have to involve President Duterte in the finalization of the senatorial slate because we will be asking him to endorse these people so dapat magaan din sa loob niya na tulungan itong mga kandidato ng kanyang partido,” he told reporters.

He said their list is somehow consistent except in maybe four names. He added some of the names they mentioned already expressed disinterest in running for the Senate while they believe others will have a change of heart before the filing for candidacy.

“Ako, I named si Rep. (Rodolfo) Fariñas kasi sabi ko sana maganda kung ally ko siya dito sa Senado eh tumawag siya sa akin sabi nya kung pupwede daw eh after his term gusto na daw niya muna out of politics. So hindi na namin siya sinasama,” he said.

Pimentel reiterated that he will fight for the inclusion of five re-electionist senators who are members of the majority bloc called The Force.

“‘Yung kasama ko sa majority na very supportive of the legislative agenda of the President (I will fight for them). That is why we have something to report to the people like free tuition, free irrigation, income tax relief, increase in base pay. Lahat po iyan made possible because of laws which would not have been possible if the members of the majority in the Senate did not also support these measures,” he said.

He mentioned Senator Grace Poe who went against President Duterte in the 2016 presidential polls.

“Tapos na po ‘yung election and kung makita mo yung labanan nila nung 2016 high level naman silang dalawa eh, walang personalan. And look at her track record now, in her votes in the legislative priorities of Pres. Duterte, she has been very supportive,” he said.

“Ako I cannot deny that. Kaya meron kaming mare-report sa taumbayan na na-achieve natin ito, na-deliver natin ito kasi tumulong sila,” he added.

He said he wanted those to be included in the slate to be at least open to federalism because they do not want disharmony or discordant voices during their campaign.

“Of course kapag nasa same stage kami, let us say in the campaign period of 2019, sana hindi kami sintunado. We sing the same song, we endorse the same idea and ang prediction ko kasi especially if the plebiscite will be conducted the same time with the election, it will be a campaign issue or campaign topic. Sana one voice kami pagdating sa federalism,” he said.

He said PDP-Laban will follow a process and a checklist on how they will choose they slate. He said they will be conducting a survey on who among the nominees are winnable, they will evaluate their track record, and then the choice of the President.

“Number one, magpapa-survey kami, sino naman ‘yung meron nang existing political strength to win. And then ‘yung sentimyento ni Presidente will also have to be accommodated. Sino naman ang magaan ang loob niya to endorse. Ano yung track record nitong taong ito. Support to the party kung hindi man partymate or support to the President,” he said.

Pimentel said he believes they will be able to finalize the list  by September in time for the filing of certificates of candidacy in October.

“Magda-draft kami ni Speaker ng shortlist, iko-consult namin ‘yung other active members of the party for their reaction, for their feedback, then when we have around 15-16 names, then armed with our own survey, armed with the information on each of the 16 names then we will now visit the President for a series of meetings,” he said.

He said nominees who are not members of PDP-Laban will be adopted or they will sign coalition agreements with them. — RSJ, GMA News