NATIONWIDE ROUND-UP

Drilon anticipates ruling party split, but not sure advantage to opposition SENATE MINORITY Leader Franklin M. Drilon said he expects a split in the ruling political party, but the opposition to which he belongs will have to go the extra mile to turn it into an advantage in the 2022 elections. “This development will have, to me, serious implications in the 2022 election, the ruling party will be split,” Mr. Drilon, vice chairman of the Liberal Party, said at a forum on Wednesday. He said he expects Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao to be removed as acting president of the ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) following his rift with President Rodrigo R. Duterte, the party chairman. “I expect Manny Pacquiao to be removed as party president of PDP-Laban and the signal is the President told Secretary (Alfonso G.) Cusi go ahead and convene that committee [meeting] in Cebu last month, so, that gives an indication of what will happen in the next several weeks,” he said. The senator, however, said it will take “a lot of work for us (Liberal Party) to take advantage of it.” “It will not harm the opposition to have the split, it will certainly help pag nahati ang (if there’s a split in the) administration given all the resources given all the troll farms, given the social media expense and resources that they have, certainly a split will help the opposition,” he added. The Liberal Party has yet to take any “concrete step” on the political development, said Mr. Drilon, and they are still concentrating on the possibility of Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, the party chair, running for a higher position. If not, the party is open to alliances, he said. Mr. Duterte on Monday night said he would campaign against Mr. Pacquiao if he fails to identify the alleged corrupt government officials. Mr. Pacquiao, in a statement on Tuesday, accepted the challenge of the President. The senator cited anomalies in the government’s purchase of rapid test kits, masks and other materials for the coronavirus pandemic. He also asked the Health department to account for expenditures. In a statement on Tuesday evening, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said the department was “disheartened” by the accusations. “While we are disheartened by these baseless accusations from our government officials, we submit ourselves to inquiries from legislators as this is a part of the checks and balances in our government,” Mr. Duque said. Presidential Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. on Wednesday slammed the statement of Mr. Pacquiao, who remains an active professional boxer. Mr. Roque, in an online briefing, said the senator might have been absent when the report was presented to the Senate or he “may have been preoccupied with something else.” —