PDP-Laban eyeing to include 7 Cabinet men in senatorial slate—party exec

President Duterte presides the PDP-Laban national assembly. (FILE) Photo from PDP-Laban media

MANILA, Philippines — Up to seven Cabinet secretaries are included in the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan’s current and unofficial senatorial slate for 2022 elections, one of the party’s ranking officials said Monday.

PDP-Laban Secretary General Melvin Matibag said there are still “more than 20” names that are included in their party’s senatorial slate which is chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.

He said that of this number, six to seven are Cabinet secretaries, two to three are re-electionists, and two to three are returning senators. There are also governors and congressmen in the line-up, said Matibag.

Matibag did not disclose the identity of the possible candidates, saying that the party has yet to finalize the list.

Asked for a date for the final senatorial line-up of PDP-Laban, Matibag said the party hopes to have an official list “by September 8 or few days after that date.”

In separate instances, mostly in his weekly public addresses that are aired nationwide, Duterte has publicly urged, or at least floated the idea to several members of his Cabinet to run for a senatorial seat in the 2022 elections.

For instance, in June, Duterte seemed to have endorsed for the 2022 national elections his chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo as he called the latter his “favorite candidate for senator.”

In a taped briefing in July, Duterte asked Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to consider running for senator. He has also made the same appeal to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

When asked if these are among the names included in their list, Matibag replied with a praying emoji.

JPV