FILE PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III . INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Friday said they would appeal the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) regarding “true” members of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) before the Supreme Court (SC).
“We will appeal to the Supreme Court as we have left without any [c]hoice already,” he told reporters in a message after the Comelec released its ruling that upheld the decision of its second division, which pronounced that the PDP-Laban faction led by former energy chief Alfonso Cusi is the “true and official” members of the political party.
READ: Comelec en banc upholds decision declaring Cusi wing as ‘true’ PDP-Laban
The crack in PDP-Laban started when former Senator Manny Pacquiao contested former President Rodrigo Duterte for his record in eradicating corruption in the government and his stance on the Philippines’ maritime row with China over the West Philippine Sea.
READ: Rift between PDP-Laban factions unlikely to be mended — Cusi wing
Eventually, the political party was divided into two groups: one led by Pimentel – son of PDP-Laban co-founder former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. – as he sided with Pacquiao, and another by Cusi, a Duterte ally.
The late Nene Pimentel and the late former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. founded PDP-Laban to register their opposition to the dictatorship of then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In the May 2022 elections, the Cusi-led PDP-Laban wing supported the candidacy of Marcos’ son and namesake, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., for president.