4 solons bolt PDP Laban, join NUP

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speakers Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong City) and Dan Fernandez (Laguna 1st); La Union 2nd District Rep. Sandra Eriguel, and Cagayan De Oro 1st District Rep. Rolando Uy have abandoned the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino Lakas ng Bansa (PDP Laban) and took their oath on Wednesday as members of the National Unity Party (NUP), further making the NUP the second largest bloc in the House of Representatives.

Deputy Speaker Johnny Pimentel, PDP Laban chair for Northern Mindanao, downplayed the transfer of its four members and said that this was “how Philippine politics work. It has a propensity for ‘turncoatism.’” —Melvin Gascon