Duterte joined PDDS to avoid PDP-Laban legal woes in Senate bid—Nograles

President Rodrigo Duterte joined  Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) party to avoid legal hurdles in his 2022 bid, acting Palace spokesperson Karlo Nograles said.

"To avoid any legal complication, minabuti na lang niya na sa PDDS mag-file (he deemed it best to file his candidacy under PDDS). And let me reiterate that PDP-Laban and PDDS entered into an alliance," Nograles said in a briefing Tuesday.

Duterte, chairperson of PDP-Laban Cusi faction, joined PDDS and substituted for a certain Liezl Visorde.

Under election laws, an individual can substitute for another person provided that they come from the same political party until November 15.

PDP-Laban is split between the group of Senator Manny Pacquiao and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.  The Cusi wing has asked the Commission on Elections to declare the PDP-Laban faction of Pacquiao as illegitimate.

The Cusi group argued that Pacquiao is automatically expelled from PDP-Laban since the senator filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for president under a different political party named Promdi.

Senator Bong Go, Duterte's close ally, also withdrew his COC for vice president under PDP-Laban and later filed his COC for president under the PDDS party.

Nograles said PDDS and PDP-Laban have inked an alliance agreement and are both supportive of Duterte.

Nograles, however, could not say when Duterte and Go joined PDDS.

"I was not present when that happened so I cannot answer that. That question should be directed to the PDDS party," he said.

GMA News Online has reached out to PDDS on the details of President Duterte's oath taking as member of the party but has yet to receive a response.—LDF, GMA News