Sen. Manny Pacquiao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Manny Pacquiao is the presidential candidate for the 2022 national elections of the PDP-Laban wing which is led by him and Senator Koko Pimentel.
Pacquiao was declared as the presidential candidate of PDP-Laban during the national assembly of his wing on Sunday.
The national assembly was held nearly two weeks after the PDP-Laban wing headed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi named Senator Bong Go and President Rodrigo Duterte as their group’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively.
“Exciting ito dahil malaki ang posibilidad na mananalo tayo sa darating na halalan at ang tunay na PDP-Laban ang magpapatakbo ng ating gobyerno,” Pimentel said at the start of the event.
The national assembly of Pacquiao’s camp was held amid the infighting within the PDP-Laban—one group led by the senator and another led by Cusi. Both camps are insisting that the other group—and the events being conducted by the other wing—are illegitimate.
Amid the infighting, however, one question remains: Which is the “legitimate” PDP-Laban.
This shall be resolved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). To recall, Cusi’s camp earlier asked the Comelec to declare as illegitimate the Pacquiao-Pimentel wing of the party.
In response to the petition filed by Cusi’s camp, the Pacquiao wing insisted that its group is recognized by the grassroots members and senior leaders of the party.