SAP Go says Duterte will set caucus of PDP-Laban leaders
Amid a perceived leadership squabble in the ruling PDP-Laban Party, President Rodrigo Duterte will call for a caucus among its leaders to fix the issues besetting the party.
In a radio interview yesterday, Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher "Bong" Go said the President sees the need to fix the problem as all the people making up the factions in the party had helped 'The Mayor' secure the presidency.
Go said that when he informed the president of the emerging factions last Friday, Duterte said he will talk with the factions' leaders. "Lahat ng mga miyembro ng factions ay mga supporters ng pangulo at nagdala sa kanya noong panahon ng kampanya," Go said.
According to Go, he knew last Friday of the factions, with one claiming to be the "real PDPLaban," when he was "again" elected as interim national auditor (INA) of the emerging faction that replaced Senator Koko Pimentel as president with ousted Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. However, the new faction has retained the president as the party chairman and Go as the INA.
But yesterday, Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro said in a news forum in Quezon City that the ruling party "might be erased from the [Philippine] political landscape" due to infighting. "With this development baka mabura na naman ang PDP-Laban on the face of the political landscape or, kung hindi man mabura, its membership will tremendously dwindle," Castro said.
Castro made the remark in response to media questions about the contested House Minority Leader position after former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was installed as Speaker, replacing Pantaleon Alvarez, and changing the power relations at the House of Representatives.
Moreover, Castro said that one possible outcome of the "unrest" in the ruling party is that the members of the PDP-Laban may return to their original parties or shift allegiance to the regional party of Davao City Mayor and president's daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio's regional party – the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).
With reports surfacing that members of the PDP-Laban in the House of Representatives were planning to shift to Duterte-Carpio's regional party, it is possible that the HNP may rise to the national level, Castro added.