Four months before the filing of candidacies for the 2022 Philippine elections, the ruling party, PDP-Laban, is making its internal wrangling too public.
A faction of the party, led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, recently passed a resolution, calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to run for vice president and choose whoever he wants to be their standard-bearer. Another faction, led by Senator Manny Pacquio, had maintained that the party should not take up politics while the government was supposed to focus on pandemic response.
Political scientists have criticized the Cusi faction’s move as bad news for democracy and a prelude to a shadow government if Duterte and his chosen presidential bet win.
Lawyer Melvin Matibag, acting secretary-general of PDP-Laban, reacts to these criticisms and defends the party from the accusations of their own acting party president, Senator Pacquiao.
Watch Matibag’s interview with reporter Pia Ranada in this episode of Rappler Talk, airing at 5 pm on Thursday, June 3, 2021. – Rappler.com
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