BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and RAYMOND AFRICA
FOLLOWING a word war between President Duterte and party mate Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles yesterday said the ruling PDP-Laban party is “solidly” behind the chief executive.
At the opposition camp, Senate minority leader and Liberal Party vice chairman Franklin Drilon said a split in administration party will work to their advantage in next year’s national elections.
The PDP-Laban appears to have split, with one group composed of supporters of Duterte, the party’s chairman, and the other, supporters of Pacquiao, PDP-Laban acting president.
The crack first appeared in May when Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi called a national council meeting which Pacquiao opposed. Another meeting is set for this month, and talks are that Duterte supporters will move to elect a new president.
Drilon told a forum, “I expect Sen. Pacquiao to be removed as party president. The signal is that the President told Secretary Cusi to go ahead and convene the party in Cebu last month (May).”
Once Pacquiao is ousted, Drilon said in a forum, that will be the start of the split.
“This development will have serious implications in the 2022 elections. The ruling party will split, which reminds me when President Cory (Aquino) endorsed President (Fidel) Ramos as against Speaker (Ramon) Mitra (during the 1992 elections). That split… the party in power,” he said.
“It will not harm the opposition to have the split… Kapag nahati ang administrasyon (Once the administration party is divided) — given all the resources, given the troll farms, given the resources that they have — certainly, a split will help the opposition,” he added.
Asked if the LP will open its door to Pacquiao, Drilon said it will depend on the Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, their party’s perceived standard bearer, should she seek for the presidency.
“Our concentration is to prepare if in the eventuality that VP Robredo runs for President. If she decides not to run, we are open to alliances and we are open to discussion. That’s all I can say… Anything can happen except that we have certain principles and platforms in the party,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
Nograles, in an interview with ANC, said he could not talk about the personal relationship between the President and Pacquiao but he could say that as far as the administration party is concerned it is supportive of Duterte.
“It’s simple, the whole PDP-Laban party is in support of President Duterte, our national chairman. That is without a doubt. PDP-Laban is solidly, solidly as one, behind President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Nograles acknowledged the exchange of words between Duterte and Pacquiao but said everyone in the party is aware of their respective responsibilities, including discussing party matters within the party instead of bringing it out in public.
He said this was message of Cusi, PDP-Laban vice chairman, when he said on Tuesday that Pacquiao should leave the party lest he burns the house down.
“Why don’t we just use the party mechanism and not bring it outside the sphere or realm of the party, lahat tayo kapartido, ganoon ang messaging ni Secretary Cusi (Why don’t we just use the party mechanism and not bring it outside the sphere or realm of the party, we are all party-mates, that is the message of Secretary Cusi),” he said.
Asked if Pacquiao should leave or stay in the party, Nograles said it is a personal decision of the senator.
Duterte on Monday night said Pacquiao should name corrupt government offices to prove that the boxer-turned-lawmaker is not just politicking. He said Pacquiao had criticized corruption in his government and threatened to expose the senator as a “liar,” and will campaign against him in 2022.
Earlier last month, Duterte criticized Pacquiao’s “shallow” foreign policy knowledge, after the senator said he found the leader’s stand on the South China Sea as “lacking” and “disheartening.”
Pacquiao is known to be eyeing the presidency next year but has not made any formal declaration. On Tuesday, he said it was Duterte himself who talked about corruption in his government, particularly during a speech in October last year. He told the President he is not corrupt and is “not a liar.”
He pointed to the Department of Health where he said there have been irregularities. He challenged Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to be ready to explain how government spent the funds for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response.
Duque on Tuesday night said he is ready for an investigation.
“We submit ourselves to inquiries from legislators as this is part of the checks and balances in our government,” said Duque.
“We submit reports to concerned government agencies, and even the Senate. The loans for the vaccines have already been explained by the Department of Finance to the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing,” he said.
“The funds loaned went straight to the vaccine manufacturer from the funding agencies. It didn’t pass through the DOH nor any government agencies,” he added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said no corruption complaint against the DOH, particularly in its use of COVID funds, has reached the DOJ-led Task Force against Corruption. — With Gerard Naval and Ashzel Hachero
