Duterte to campaign for PDP-Laban bets starting March 25, says Cusi

President Rodrigo Duterte will personally campaign for PDP-Laban candidates in the 2022 national and local elections starting March 25, a faction of the party said Friday.

In a statement, the PDP-Laban wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Duterte, the party chairman, will have a more “proactive role” in campaigning for their bets in the elections.

“As Chairman of the PDP Laban, President Duterte will be taking a more proactive role to promote its 6,592 national and local candidates these coming weeks of the campaign period,” Cusi said.

“The President told us that he will be giving his full support to all our candidates in this year’s elections. Once elected, we will continue all the programs and advocacies of President Duterte from the national to the local level. We are after all the ‘Patuloy na Pagbabago Coalition,’” he added.

PDP-Laban has no presidential and vice presidential candidates for the upcoming polls.

They initially fielded Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go as their presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. Go, however, withdrew his bid after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte filed a certificate of candidacy for vice president.

Dela Rosa, on the other hand, withdrew his certificate of candidacy.

Last January 21, the Cusi-led faction announced that they have adopted Mayor Duterte, daughter of the President, as its vice presidential bet for the 2022 elections.

Mayor Duterte's running-mate in the 2022 elections is former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Cusi earlier said PDP-Laban has yet to be "convinced" by any presidential bet, including Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Two factions of the PDP-Laban are vying for recognition before the Commission on Elections — that of Cusi and Duterte, and the other of Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Senator Manny Pacquiao, who is also seeking the presidency in the upcoming elections.

In the same statement, Cusi said the PDP-Laban will formally launch its “11-point Agenda for Continuity” in a proclamation rally.

The party, however, did not provide further details on the said event.

The 11-point agenda includes the fight against corruption; eradication of poverty; advancement of peace and order; ending the pandemic; defeating communist terrorism in the country; sustaining economic growth; generation of jobs; strengthening national defense and foreign relations; educational reforms; decentralization and local government empowerment; and charter change and federalism.  —KBK, GMA News