On leave PDP-Laban faction exec: PDP Cares shouldn’t have been a party-list

PDP-Laban’s logo from its official Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — An on leave official of the PDP-Laban wing under Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has claimed that PDP Cares, which is seeking a congressional seat in the 2022 elections, should have not been turned into a party-list group.

During a press conference on Tuesday about President Rodrigo Duterte’s reminder against party-list groups allegedly posing as fronts of communist rebels, National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) Commissioner Reymar Mansilungan brought up an issue against another party-list — PDP Cares — which he said is supposed to be apolitical being the humanitarian arm of PDP-Laban

Mansilungan, who is on leave from PDP-Laban’s livelihood chairperson post, said that Senator Koko Pimentel himself said in 2018 that PDP Cares would not be involved in politics.  However, the Cusi-wing official stressed that Pimentel’s wife, Kathryna Yu-Pimentel, is running as PDP Cares’ first nominee.

“In 2018, kung titignan niyo po ‘yong dyaryo, specifically ‘yon pong Inquirer, no’n pong publication ng August 15, 2018, nagcelebrate po ang PDP Cares ng first anniversary — ibig sabihin ‘yong PDP Cares ay natatag no’ng 2017, sometime in August 2017 although wala po siyang official na registration sa SEC, pero nag-celebrate siya no’ng 2018, August 15 ang first anniversary niya,” Mansilungan said.

(In 2018, if you’d take a look at the newspapers, specifically Inquirer, in their publication last August 15, 2018, PDP Cares celebrated its first anniversary — which means that PDP Cares was founded in 2017, sometime in August 2017 although it has no official na registration with SEC, it celebrated its first anniversary.)

“Do’n po sa publication na ‘yon, sinabi ni Senator Koko Pimentel, categorically ang sinabi niya, PDP-Laban Cares is apolitical, tapos ang sabi niya pa, PDP-Laban Cares volunteers and leaders will never be involved in politics.  Ang sabi niya […] ‘I promise to you, as president of the party, that there is a wall that cannot be breached between politics of the party and the humanitarian arm of the party’,” he added.

(In that publication, Senator Koko Pimentel categorically said that PDP-Laban Cares is apolitical, and then he said that PDP-Laban Cares volunteers and leaders will never be involved in politics.  He said: ‘I promise to you, as president of the party, that there is a wall that cannot be breached between politics of the party and the humanitarian arm of the party’.)

Mansilungan was referring to an August 15, 2018 story published at INQUIRER.net entitled “In show of unity, PDP-Laban rallies behind PDP Cares”.  At the later portion of the story, Pimentel indeed said that the humanitarian arm of PDP-Laban would remain apolitical.

Pimentel is heading the other faction of PDP-Laban, after the groups separated because of infighting.

READ: In show of unity, PDP-Laban rallies behind PDP Cares 

INQUIRER.net has sought the side of Senator Pimentel but he has not yet responded to messages about Mansilungan’s claims.

The NCSC official clarified that he has nothing personal against Senator Pimentel’s wife, adding that if Yu-Pimentel ran under a different party, he would have not made any comments about it.

“I have nothing against Mrs. Pimentel, sa palagay ko qualified naman siya na maging congresswoman.  Ang problema, ‘yong ginamit po niya ay ‘yong humanitarian arm ng partido, which is what is wrong,” he said.

(I have nothing against Mrs. Pimentel, I think she is qualified to be a congresswoman.  The problem is that she used the humanitarian arm of the party, which is what is wrong.)

“(If si Mrs. Pimentel) ay nag-file sila ng isang, nag-register sila ng isang party-list na hindi ginamit ‘yong pangalan na PDP Cares, na humanitarian arm ng PDP-Laban, wala pong problema.  So again, I’m not campaigning against Mrs. Pimentel as a party-list representative, first nominee,” he added.

(If she filed her candidacy, or registered a party-list without using the name of PDP Cares, which is the humanitarian arm of PDP-Laban, then we won’t have a problem.  So again, I’m not campaigning against Mrs. Pimentel as a party-list representative, first nominee.)

PDP-Laban, created during the term of late dictator and former president Ferdinand Marcos, is currently split into two groups: one under Cusi, and another under Pimentel.

Pimentel’s faction has expressed support to Senator Manny Pacquiao’s presidential candidacy for the 2022 polls, while Cusi’s group is supporting the presidential bid of Marcos’ son and namesake, former senator Bongbong Marcos.

Pacquiao has called the decision of the other faction to support Marcos ‘stupid’, saying that the party itself was created to oppose the dictator’s martial law regime.

READ: Cusi-led PDP-Laban wing endorses Bongbong Marcos for president 

JPV