The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) denounced Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel for using the name of the party in his official letter to Senate President Chiz Escudero urging the Senate to act on the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Pimentel penned on Tuesday a letter to the Senate leadership, emphasizing that it is the chamber’s duty, pursuant to the Philippine Constitution, to act without any delay on the impeachment complaint filed against the vice president.
In a statement released on Thursday, the party emphasized that Pimentel no longer has any legal or moral right to use the name PDP Laban because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has ruled with finality on March 23, 2023, that the group led by former President Rodrigo Duterte is the true and legitimate PDP Laban.
“Therefore, only the group led by President Duterte has the right to use the party name,” it said.
Moreover, PDP underscored that Pimentel has left the party and has transferred to the Nacionalista party.
Pimentel is running for Mayor of Marikina under the banner of the Nacionalista Party as reflected in his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC).
The PDP Laban requested Pimentel to refrain from misusing the name of the party and misleading the Filipino people about his current party affiliation.
“The party is vehemently opposed to the impeachment of the Vice President and his use of the PDP Laban name in an official letter to the Senate President makes it appear that the party has taken a different position,” it said.
Last week, PDP Laban described the impeachment complaint against the vice president as the clearest manifestation of dirty politics in the country, an affront to the sovereign will of the Filipino people, and reckless abuse of power.
The PDP Laban expressed in a statement its extreme disgust and condemnation over the “railroaded and sham impeachment by the House of Representatives.”
PDP Laban underscored that the obvious railroading of the impeachment against the vice president was executed with precision by desperate members of the House to distract from the worsening situation of the country.
