President Rodrigo Duterte, whose six-year term ends in June, will personally campaign for PDP-Laban candidates in the 2022 national and local elections starting March 25, a faction of the party said Friday.
Immediately Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio welcomed the statement while she was interviewed during political swings in the north of the metropolis.
“I think it is a welcome development for the PDP party and the PDP candidates that their campaign will be given a push. President Duterte is there for them,” Duterte-Carpio said.
In a statement, the PDP-Laban wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Duterte, the party chairman, would have a more “proactive role” in campaigning for their bets in the elections.
“As chairman of the PDP Laban, President Duterte will be taking a more proactive role to promote its 6,592 national and local candidates these coming weeks of the campaign period,” Cusi said.
The PDP-Laban Cusi faction has no presidential and vice presidential candidates for the upcoming polls.
On the other hand, the PDP-Laban Pacquiao faction has fielded Senator Manny Pacquiao and party-list Rep. Lito Atienza as presidential and vice presidential candidates.
While Duterte has not declared support for any of the presidential aspirants, he had previously said he would back his daughter’s bid for the vice presidency.
In the same statement, Cusi said the PDP-Laban would formally launch its “11-point Agenda for Continuity” in a proclamation rally, the date and place not disclosed.
The 11-point agenda would include the fight against corruption; eradication of poverty; advancement of peace and order; ending the pandemic; defeating communist terrorism in the country; sustaining economic growth; generation of jobs; strengthening national defense and foreign relations; educational reforms; decentralization and local government empowerment; and charter change and federalism.