Senator Aquilino Pimentel III (left) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (File photos from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte let loose a stinging rebuke over the “sad state” of her father’s PDP-Laban, chiding Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel as she refused to be faulted for the “sitcom” that the ruling political party “has been reduced to.”
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio blasted alleged efforts to blame her for the infighting in PDP-Laban, particularly calling out Pimentel as well as party executive director Ronwald Munsayac.
“Senator Pimentel and Mr. Ronwald Munsayac should stop blaming me for the sad state of their political party. It is not my fault that no one among you is a leader worthy of the respect of the majority,” she said in a statement Wednesday.
“Do not blame me for the sitcom that your party has been reduced to,” she added.
“I am not a ‘Last Two Minutes’ person. I think, I organize, and I implement accordingly. In the meantime, I refuse to be a political punching bag for a party in complete disarray,” she continued.
Among the biggest contentions between the two factions in the PDP-Laban is the push for the tandem of Senator Bong Go and President Rodrigo Duterte as the party’s standard-bearers for the 2022 elections.
Munsayac, who is identified with the faction of Pimentel and Senator Manny Pacquiao, earlier claimed that “most” members of the party see the endorsed Go-Duterte tandem as a “smokescreen.”
“We’re in touch with our old guards and grassroots party mates daily. The sentiment of most of our party mates is that the tandem is merely a smokescreen for their real candidate — Mayor Sara Duterte,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pimentel has said that PDP-Laban members who support another personality outside the group should just leave the party. It was not clear which candidate Pimentel was referring to.