Nene Pimentel widow slams PDP-Laban Cusi faction's endorsement of Marcos Jr.

The widow of the late Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. on Sunday slammed  the PDP-Laban Alfonso Cusi faction's endorsement of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.'s presidential bid.

In a statement, Lourdes “Bing” Pimentel stressed that PDP-Laban was founded to stand against the dictatorship of then-President Ferdinand Marcos.

"Bilang may bahay ni Nene Pimentel at testigo sa pagtatag ng PDP-Laban, ang puso ko'y umiiyak at naaawa sa ating Bayan," she said.

"Ang magnanakaw ng kaban ng bayan ay ninakaw din ang PDP-Laban na binuo kasama ng dugo at sakripisyo ng mga tao tulad nina Nene Pimentel, Ninoy Aquino, at Lorenzo Tanada, ay walang hiyang gagamitin para suportahan ang kandidatura ng isang taong hindi karapat-dapat maging Pangulo ng ating Bayan," she added.

Pimentel urged those planning to vote for Marcos Jr. to be critical and to open their eyes to the truth that he was unfit to be the country’s next president.

"Dear Filipinos, let us all think about what is good for our country. Isipin po natin ang Pilipinas bago ang ating pansariling akalang tunay na pag-asa," she said.

She pointed out that the election in May 2022 was important because the country was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and had many other problems.

She added that the next leader should have integrity and should be someone who can defend human rights.

“Ang PDP-Laban ay binuo para labanan ang katiwalian ng rehimeng Marcos at lahat ng rehimeng yuyurak sa ating kalayaan at demokrasya. History will show what I mean,” Lourdes further emphasized.

On March 22, the Cusi-led faction chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte formally gave its support to the candidacy of Marcos Jr.

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, reacting to the endorsement, had called the faction "total strangers to PDP-Laban."

However, Acting Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Kris Ablan clarified that Duterte has not endorsed a 2022 presidential candidate despite meeting with Marcos Jr. — DVM, GMA News