Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Photo from Lakas-CMD)
MANILA, Philippines — The widow of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) founder and Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. delivered on Sunday a scorching rejection of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., saying he deserved neither the support of her late husband’s party nor to be the country’s president.
Lourdes “Bing” Pimentel issued a statement reproaching PDP-Laban members for endorsing the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, against whose rule the party had been formed during martial law, calling them a bunch of thieves.
‘Weighed but found wanting’
“The thieves who stole the nation’s coffers have also stolen PDP-Laban, which was created by the blood and sacrifice of people like Nene Pimentel, Ninoy Aquino and Lorenzo Tañada, and shamelessly used it to support the candidacy of a person who does not deserve to be the president of our country,” she said in Filipino.
“I am praying and calling on all those voting for Bongbong Marcos to study carefully and not play deaf and blind to the truth, which shows that Bongbong Marcos has been ‘weighed but found wanting’ of the qualities to become president,” she said.
“I pray that this shall not happen because the nation will suffer and we will all suffer,” Pimentel said.
‘Don’t be fooled’
Last week, a faction of the PDP-Laban led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and backed by President Duterte declared their support for Marcos, immediately causing outrage among members of the rival group led by Pimentel’s son, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.
The younger Pimentel and other core PDP-Laban stalwarts are now backing the candidacy of Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who is carrying the banner of the Promdi party to avoid the legal complications of a disputed PDP-Laban leadership.
In her statement, Pimentel’s widow urged Filipinos to “think about what is good for our country.”
“This election is highly important because of COVID-19 and various problems we are experiencing now. Let us not be fooled by the money, false promises, and lies of the devil,” she said.
“Let us choose a leader who is godly, with sincerity, integrity, patience, and ability, not greedy for money or power, just, will defend human rights and will be good to us and truly love our nation,” Pimentel said.
She said PDP-Laban “was formed to fight the corruption of the Marcos regime and all other regimes that will ruin our ‘freedom and democracy.’”
“History will show what I mean,” she said.
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