Duterte maintaining Hugpong party ties

President Duterte is keeping his alliance with Hugpong, his local party since he started his political career in Davao City.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque affirmed that the President still belongs to the Davao-based local party despite his involvement with the ruling PDP-Laban party.

“Talaga ‘yan ang partido ko mula’t mula pa sa Davao kapag ako tumatakbo ako ng mayor [That’s my party ever since in Davao whenever I ran for mayor],” Roque said, quoting Duterte when asked about Hugpong.

“Twenty-three years siya naging mayor, ang partido niya talaga ang party Hugpong [He was mayor for 23 years, his party was really the Hugpong party],” Roque added.

Duterte, former mayor of Davao City, founded the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod local party.

He also currently serves as chairman of the administration Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party.

He previously described PDP-Laban as a moribund political party until he decided to run for president under its banner in the 2016 elections.

Roque made the remarks after he formally joined the newly-formed Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) led by the President’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Roque took his oath as HNP member after being endorsed by the President as a potential senatorial candidate in next year’s midterm elections.

“I am the Presidential Spokesperson and the President has said Hugpong is his party. It’s only right I join his party. This is without prejudice to alliances that Hugpong may enter into, including with PDP Laban, so that’s not really animpossibility,” he said.

“But as matter of course, as Presidential Spokesperson, I need to join the party of the President as well he is also the chairman of PDP so I should also be there but first and foremost when I asked him he said Hugpong has always been his party,” he said.