Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON
Vowing to restore order in the country, presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte took over as chair of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
“Under the leadership of Mayor Duterte and through his brave solutions and immediate actions, it will be possible for our party to achieve true change and to restore order in the country,” the PDP-Laban president, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, said in a statement Sunday.
Pimentel said party members would be more inspired to work toward fulfilling their vision of a better country for Filipinos.
“This energized hope will surely transition in our efforts in the upcoming election,” he said.
In a phone interview, the senator said PDP-Laban, in offering the post to Duterte, was giving “value” to the party’s standard-bearer.
Pimentel said the party had long offered the post to Duterte, but the mayor had declined because he did not want to take it if someone else was occupying it.
The senator said former South Cotabato Gov. Ismael Sueno offered the post to Duterte and the mayor had accepted it.
Tondo proclamation
Duterte will formally accept the party chairmanship tomorrow before he goes to his proclamation rally in Tondo, Manila, according to Pimentel.
PDP-Laban is a coalition between Lakas ng Bayan, founded by former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1978, and Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, founded in 1982 by former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Speaking on behalf of the presidential contender, Duterte’s media coordinator, Pete Laviña, said: “Mayor Duterte is deeply humbled by the PDP-Laban’s decision to appoint him as its party chair. While the mayor has been a long-time member of the party, he never expected that he will be given this privilege to lead the party, which is rich in history and struggle.”
Laviña said Duterte would not squander the hopes entrusted to him by the PDP-Laban leadership and its rank and file.
“Even as our journey toward realizing a better future for our people is a tough one, I am confident that with Mayor Duterte’s leadership, the PDP-Laban will become a catalyst of real change in the coming elections,” Laviña said.
The PDP-Laban spokesperson, Paola Alvarez, said Duterte was “now fully prepared and driven to lead the party toward fulfilling its goal of addressing the country’s disorder.”
Solutions to disorder
Alvarez said the people were assured that PDP-Laban under Duterte’s leadership would have the “tough solutions to end hardship and disorder that Filipinos face every day.”
She added, “We no longer need old promises or minor reforms. What the country needs now is genuine change.”
The party spokesperson pointed out that the leading causes of disorder in the country were crime, drugs and corruption.
Other factors that bring chaos to the country are Metro Manila’s congestion, the lack of real development in the regions, and social injustice, Alvarez said.
“Come May, PDP-Laban and Mayor Duterte will put an end to disorder in the lives of ordinary Filipinos. We will end our nation’s woes,” she said.