Pimentel to fight on for recognition of PDP-Laban amid rival faction’s name change

The PDP-Laban wing led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel will not give up its legal battle to be recognized as the legitimate party after the faction led by former president Rodrigo Duterte announced a name change, the senator said Monday.

On Saturday, during its National Council Meeting in Cebu City, the Duterte-led wing said it has dropped the "Laban" from the party name, and that it will only be known as PDP.

The removal of the word "Laban," as well as of the oath now to be taken using right hand instead of the left, was made via a resolution adopted by the party during the same event.

“Sayang ang history ng PDP-Laban, kaya ipaglalaban namin iyan. Kaming mga lehitimong PDP-Laban, original. Tapos iyong true believers ideology ng PDP-Laban, itutuloy namin ang kausa ng PDP-Laban at ilalaban namin, even [all the way] to the Supreme Court,” Pimentel told reporters.

(The history of PDP-Laban would be wasted, and that is why we are fighting for it. We, the legitimate PDP-Laban members, are the original, the true believers of PDP-Laban ideology. We will continue the party’s cause, and we will fight for it all the way to the Supreme Court.)

PDP-Laban was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), co-founded by Pimentel's father Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr., with the Lakas Ng Bayan (Laban) party, founded by Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. Both were opposition leaders during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

PDP-Laban was a dominant party in 1986, in the aftermath of the election victory of Aquino’s widow Corazon Aquino and Marcos's ouster. When Cory Aquino’s term ended in 1992, the party's influence waned until it backed Duterte’s presidential bid in 2016. In 2022, the wing led by Duterte and then-Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi announced its support for Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s presidential bid.

In 2022, the Commission on Elections ruled that the Cusi wing was the legitimate PDP-Laban party, but Pimentel's faction has since asked the Supreme Court to reverse that decision, alleging that:

• the Comelec en banc took cognizance of the case without jurisdiction
• the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion for failing to verify whether a quorum was present in each of the alleged gatherings held by the Duterte group, including the meetings wherein Pimentel and his allies were ousted from the party 

“Kaya nga may pending case kami diyan. Sayang e. I mean gusto naming ituloy ang kausa ng PDP-Laban. Ang kabila, ayaw nilang ituloy. Gusto nilang baguhin. Magbuo na lang kayo ng sarili niyong partido, hindi naman bawal iyon e,” Pimentel said.

(That is why we have a pending case. We want to continue the PDP-Laban cause, and these people are not for it. They want to change it. Why don't you just create your own party, it's not forbidden.)

“Nakakalungkot na pinag-awayan pa namin iyong partido tapos ganoon lang pala ang kanilang plano na palitan ang pangalan, palitan ang symbolisms, pati iyong pag-o-oath ng kaliwang kamay, gagawin na nilang kanang kamay, even iyong party handshake,” Pimentel added.

(It is just a shame that we fought over the party, only for their plan to change the name, the symbolisms, including taking the oath with the left hand and the party handshake.)

At the same PDP event in Cebu, the Duterte-led party endorsed the 2025 Senate bids of incumbent Senators Ronald dela Rosa, Francis Tolentino and Christopher “Bong” Go, as well as actor Philip Salvador.

“It was the party's decision as it must adapt to the changing conditions of time and make it more responsive and reflective of evolving realities of the country's political arena,” Go said in a separate statement.

“Since the party’s founding, the party’s goals never changed: to serve the country and uplift the lives of Filipinos. As a party-member and public servant, I will continue to serve to the best of my ability because serving the public is also a service to God,” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News