Duterte to PDP-Laban party mates: We give Marcos full support

Former President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday that he was not inclined to put up a strong party against Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. even as he assured his PDP-Laban party mates that they were on the winning team.

"Let me make this thing very, very clear: We are not putting up a strong party against the party of the President," Duterte said during PDP-Laban's National Assembly on Thursday.

"We are not going to quarrel with him. Far from it. We will be giving our full support to him politically. He was elected by 31 million, I was also elected by a good number of majority. I feel that it is our duty to serve the country," the PDP-Laban chairperson, added.

Duterte then wished Marcos good luck.

"I hope he will govern this country in accordance with the people's interest," he said.

Marcos' running mate during the 2022 polls is Duterte's daughter, then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

The Marcos-Duterte ticket overwhelmingly won the 2022 presidential and vice presidential races with over 31 million and 32 million votes, respectively.

Fiscalizer

Duterte, however, said that PDP-Laban won't turn a blind eye to missteps of the Marcos administration.

"In the coming days, we will fiscalize. Pag may nakita tayong masama, we will raise our voice, because that is the essence of our presence here," Duterte added.

Asked later what he thought of Marcos' first 100 days, Duterte said, "If he succeeds, it will redound to the benefit of our country. Wala pang natapos ‘yung 100 days." 

"It’s supposed to be a honeymoon, they call it a honeymoon with the press. At least give it to him. We have given it to other presidents. I don’t know if I was conscious of that, when I was there," Duterte said.

Asked later what he thought about Marcos' first one hundred days in office, Duterte said, 

Duterte lamented that the multi-party system envisioned to democratize the composition of elected officials resulting from the 1987 Constitution has not been realized to this day.

"Ang party, nabibili na ngayon...it is cornered by people with money. There are only a few kung may naiwan. It is not illegal, not fundamentally wrong, but such defeats the purpose of giving voice to an association or grouping," Duterte said.

"There are those who migrated to the other side. Wala akong sasabihin. That is how they would want to work. The Constitution allows it," Duterte added.

Be that as it may, Duterte said that ultimately, loyalty counts.

"You hang on to this party because it will carry you to victory in the coming years, sigurado ako," he added.—LDF/NB, GMA News