Pimentel-led PDP Laban wing warns vs. Duterte faction's call to go to EDSA

The PDP-Laban wing led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel on Monday warned against the call of the faction led by former President Rodrigo Duterte for the people to gather at EDSA Shrine.

Pimentel's bloc issued a statement after the Duterte-led PDP Laban posted on its official Facebook page on Sunday a call for Filipinos to gather and express their opposition to the Marcos administration.

"Labas na! Tara na sa Edsa Shrine. Ilabas ang iyong saloobin sa panggigipit at tahasang pamumulitika ng administrasyong Marcos. Mulatin natin ang mga naka-pikit at nagbibingibingihan. Kailangan tayo ng taumbayan. Halika na't makiisa!" the Facebook post read.

(Come out! Let's gather at Edsa Shrine. Express your thoughts on the oppression and blatant politicking of the Marcos administration. Let's open the eyes of those who are still blind and deaf to the situation. The people needs us. Come and let's unite!)

The Pimentel bloc denounced the call, saying "the actions of this rogue faction are neither representative of PDP Laban's ideals nor the aspirations of its founding members and loyal supporters."

"The PDP Laban under the genuine leadership of Party Chairman Senator Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel III and Party President Senator Emannuel 'Manny' Pacquiao, strongly denounce the reckless actions and inflammatory statements of the self-serving faction falsely claiming to represent our political party," it said in a statement.

"Their call for disturbance and their misuse of the party name for selfish political moves is a betrayal of the principles upon which the PDP Laban was founded--principles of justice, peace, and the rule of law," it added.

The Pimentel bloc said it stands firmly behind the Constitution, the rule of law, and the democratically-elected government.

"The Philippines has faced enough challenges, and the last thing our nation needs is division and destabilization at the hands of those who prioritize personal agendas (sic) over the welfare of the Filipino people," it said.

It also urged the public to discern truth from manipulation to avoid "being swayed by those who exploits our nation's political landscape for their gain."

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 Senator 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.

The party 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.

Also 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.

—AOL, GMA Integrated News