Pimentel slams Cusi wing in PDP-Laban for being ‘unpatriotic’
SEN. Aquilino Pimentel 3rd on Friday lashed out at politicians who are allegedly trying to distract boxing icon Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao from training for his world championship boxing bout in Las Vegas on August 21.”This is the first time that a group of Filipinos, because of politics, has organized an effort meant to distract our Pambansang Kamao while he fights in the boxing ring to bring additional honor to our country. How unpatriotic of this group of politicians,” said Pimentel in his post on Twitter.A faction of the PDP-Laban party led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had unseated Pacquiao as party president. He was replaced by Cusi.Both Pimentel and Pacquiao claimed that they represent the legitimate party.Pimentel is the party executive vice chairman but the Cusi wing, during a July 17 national assembly, ceased recognizing him as executive vice chairman. His father, the late Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr., founded PDP in 1982 to fight the Marcos regime.The party has since then been split with the Cusi faction scheduled to hold a convention on September 8 and would likely vote to support the tandem of Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and President Rodrigo Duterte for president and vice president in the May 2022 national elections.The PDP-Laban constitution has consistently been interpreted by leaders of the party over the decades not to prohibit members of the party from being part of a regional political party.Pimentel said snapshots of documents being circulated actually showed that within days of becoming PDP-Laban president, Pacquiao gave up his leadership of the People’s Champ Movement, a regional political party. It was an act which was not even required of him to do.A statement from the PDP-Laban headquarters of the Pacquiao wing also stated: “The desperation of the claims against Senator Manny Pacquiao show the malicious nature of the cause of the usurpers and expelled members of PDP-Laban who have no rights or authority whatsoever to represent or lead the party.”Also, the expelled members are leading a group illegally acting as the leaders of the Party without any basis or authority. All their acts are therefore null and void for being in utter violation of the Party constitution,” supporters of Pacquiao in the PDP-Laban said.
Read More
