Senate President Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimente III. INQUIRER FILE
Some 8,000 people from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, and Camiguin were sworn in as members of the country’s ruling party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
The new party members took their oath before Senate President and party president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel on Saturday at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) in Cagayan de Oro.
The political party was founded as the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino in the 1970s in Cagayan de Oro.
“My father, former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr., founded the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino under the shade of a banana tree, with only a blackboard to help him and the pioneer members discuss possible solutions to the age-old problems of our society,” Pimentel said during his speech at the ceremony.
“PDP-Laban never surrendered its principles, even in the darkest days of Martial Law, or our years out of power. In this event, we want to show the people of CDO that our perseverance has brought us power on the national level – the power to bring Change to society and uplift the quality of life of every Filipino,” he added.
At the end of the event, Pimentel met with a delegation consisting of faculty, staff, and students led by the widow of slain USTP president Ricardo Rotoras.
The widow asked the Senate president to help them get justice.
Pimentel said he promised to do all he could to ensure justice for Rotoras.
PDP-Laban said it had been advocating for “a federal type of government, the empowerment of the people, and respect for the rule of law” which had placed it “on a collision course with the martial law regime of the time.”
In 1982, PDP, as the largest opposition party in Mindanao, merged with Laban, the largest opposition party in Luzon, to form PDP Laban.
In 2016, it was swept into power led by its chair, President Rodrigo Duterte. /cbb