PRESS RELEASE
20 September 2021
"Tragic" ending for Pacquiao's prexy bid seen
Senator Manny Pacquiao's foray into the 2022 presidential derby could end up tragically for him, PDP Laban Secretary General Atty. Melvin Matibag said Monday.
In a virtual press briefing, Matibag insisted that the supposed national convention held by the faction of Senators Pacquiao and Aquilino Pimentel III—where the former accepted his nomination as presidential candidate---failed to comply with the ruling party's constitution and thus, illegal.
"We are not surprised; we expect them to do that. The ouster of President (Rodrigo) Duterte (as party chairman), that was a comedy. The proclamation (of Pacquiao), that's drama. Hopefully, it would not end up for them as a tragedy," Matibag said.
By "tragedy" Matibag said he means the prospect of Pacquiao's defeat in the legal battle for legitimacy before the Commission on Elections but also of losing in the 2022 national elections.
Matibag expressed confidence the Comelec would eventually decide in favor of their petition seeking to declare as illegitimate the claim of Pacquiao and Pimentel are rightful officers of PDP Laban.
He noted that under PDP Laban's constitution, drafted by Pimentel himself, only the party chairman has authority to call a national council, which in turn is the only body that can convene a national assembly to elect the party's officers.
Matibag noted that in both the Sworn Information Update Statement (SIUS) that his group submitted to the Comelec on 05 August 2021 and that of Pacquiao's faction submitted on 19 July 2021 named President Duterte as the party chairman.
"That was the reason why they supposedly ousted President Duterte as chairman and replaced him with Sen. Pimentel to give them a semblance of authority to call a national council meeting. But the SIUS they filed is a declaration against their own interest," he explained.
Matibag also said it was wrong for Sen. Pimentel to accuse the party's wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi of trying to "hijack" the party.
"If there is anybody who is not an original member of the party who wants to wrest its leadership it's Sen. Pacquiao," Matibag said.
He noted that before becoming a PDP Laban member Pacquaio came from the Liberal Party. Before joining LP, Pacquiao was a member of the Nacionalista Party.
"As to Sen. Pimentel, he would not be a Senate President had it not been for President Duterte. When the Senate Presidency was being contested between him and (the) Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Pacquiao initially supported Cayetano," Matibag recalled.
Matibag added that when Pimentel was ousted as Senate President, Pacquiao signed the resolution in support of the change in leadership of the Upper Chamber.
According to reports Pacquiao was among the top absentees in the House of Representatives during the 16th Congress as well as in the Senate, particularly in the Third Session of the 17th Congress. Another report noted that in his 12 years as lawmaker, no significant piece of legislation can be truly identified with Pacquiao.
It was estimated that under the 2020 budget, taxpayers spent nearly P396 million for each of the 24 senators, their staff and consultants, and Senate employees.
Meanwhile, Matibag noted that PDP Laban's legal department is investigating Pacquiao in connection with the attempt to change his regional party People's Champ Movement (PCM) into a national party to back the senator's plans for 2022.
Reymar Mansilungan, PDP Laban Livelihood Committee chairman, membership in another national party is ground for automatic expulsion under the constitution of PDP Laban.
Matibag also bared Pimentel's attempt to register the humanitarian arm of the ruling party, known as PDP Cares, as a party list in support of his political agenda.
PDP Cares was established by former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and was eventually headed by Pimentel's partner, Kathryna Yu.
"Now who's greedy for power?" Matibag said.
While PDP Laban led by Sec. Cusi tried to reach out to Pacquiao to iron out their differences, Matibag said reconciliation may be too late at this stage. noting the senator had already been acting "like an opposition candidate."
Likewise, Matibag said PDP Laban remains hopeful that Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, would change his mind and eventually accept his nomination as candidate for President of the ruling party in the 2022 elections.
"As we said before we will wait for his (Go's) Decision. We have enough time. Remember what he said before: he leaves his fate to God and the Dutertes and also that he might run for President if President Duterte were his vice-presidential running mate," Matibag said.
On the other hand, Matibag denied that there are talks for a possible tandem between former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. and President Duterte.
"We have heard of such reports but, personally, I can tell you that there are no official discussions on such matter," Matibag said. ####
Reference: Melvin Matibag
Secretary General
09178063523
