Pimentel urged to stop ‘misusing’ PDP Laban in Sara Duterte impeachment

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) on Thursday called out Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III for using the party’s name in his letter urging the Senate to immediately start the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

PDP Laban was referring to Pimentel’s letter addressed to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero dated February 14, 2025, where the party’s name was indicated in the letterhead, below the senator’s name.

According to PDP Laban, Pimentel "illegally used" the party's name as he "no longer has any legal or moral right" to do so.

It cited a Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling in 2023 declaring the faction led by former President Rodrigo Duterte and former Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi as the legitimate PDP Laban. The party also said that Pimentel already left PDP Laban and transferred to the Nacionalista party.

“Therefore, only the group led by President Duterte has the right to use the party name,” the PDP said in a statement.

“[T]he PDP Laban kindly requests the Honorable Senator to refrain from misusing the name PDP Laban and misleading the Filipino people about his current party affiliation,” it added.

The party said it “vehemently opposes” the impeachment of the Vice President and Pimentel’s use of PDP Laban’s name in the letter to Escudero “makes it appear that the party has taken a different position.”

Pimentel told Escudero in the letter to start Duterte’s impeachment trial with urgency, emphasizing that it is the Senate's constitutional mandate to do so.

The Senate President, for his part, said that preparations are underway for the impending impeachment trial of Duterte, but maintained that it will not happen while the Congress is on break.

‘Nothing is final yet’

Sought for comment, Pimentel told GMA News Online that the Supreme Court is still yet to rule on the PDP Laban issue.

“Case between the PDP LABAN ORIGINALS (my group) versus the PDP USURPERS is still pending before the Supreme Court. Hence nothing is final yet, as who knows the SC might reverse the Comelec,” the senator said.

He also said that it is still “theoretically possible” that the SC will reverse the Comelec decision.

“‘Di ba alam ng PDP USURPERS [don’t they know] who founded the PDP LABAN way back in 1982? Don’t they know who kept that party alive until the time that they hijacked it from the original members? Alam nila na hindi sila ‘yun [they know it's not them],” Pimentel added.

In 2023, Pimentel asked the SC to reverse the Comelec 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.

In 2023, Pimentel asked the SC to reverse the Comelec decision.

PDP Laban was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), co-founded by Pimentel's late 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 Marcos' ouster and the rise of Aquino's widow Corazon Aquino to the presidency.

Following changes in the political landscape over two decades later, PDP Laban backed the elder Duterte's presidential bid in 2016.

In 2022, the wing led by Duterte and Cusi announced its support for Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s presidential bid.

‘Absurd’

The Pimentel-led PDP Laban wing also slammed the Duterte-led faction for its “baseless and misleading claims.”

“Their own hypocrisy exposes their true nature. In April 2024, this faction passed a resolution removing the word 'LABAN' from their name. If they no longer identify with the party’s full name and legacy, why do they continue to use it when convenient? This inconsistency reflects their style of governance—one driven by opportunism rather than principle,” it said in a statement.

It further stressed that to say that Pimentel has no legal or moral right to use the PDP Laban name is “absurd” as he is the son of the party’s founder and has dedicated his career to upholding its core values.

“The same cannot be said for those who only joined PDP Laban as a matter of political convenience, only to later betray its principles,” it added. —with Llanesca Panti/AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News