Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will convene the national assembly of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan which is celebrating its 40th anniversary at the Golden Bay Restaurant in Pasay City Thursday.
The assembly is themed “40 Years of Enlightened Nationalism.”
Duterte, the party chairperson, will preside over the election of new officers.
PDP Laban president Alfonso Cusi said the assembly was convened to continue the legacy of the party as a trailblazer in nation-building and as a beacon of hope to all Filipinos.
“Truly life begins at 40, and this goes the same for PDP Laban. The party and our chairperson, President Duterte, remain steadfast. And we have always stayed relevant to the needs of all our kababayans since we were founded in 1992,” Cusi said.
During the recent party’s national council meeting, Duterte commended the more than 300 council members for their loyalty. These include senators, congressmen, governors, city mayors, and other government officials.
“Bilib ako sa mga taga-PDP Laban. Alam mo kung bakit bilib ako sa inyo? Ang mga miyembro ng PDP Laban may prinsipyo.
Kung wala kayong prinsipyo, lumukso na kayo sa kabila,” the former President said.
Cusi said the party remains formidable with four incumbent senators — Robinhood Padilla, Francis Tolentino, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, and Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa — 38 congressmen, 23 governors, 31 vice governors, 263 provincial board members, hundreds of mayors and vice mayors and thousands of city and municipal councilors.
Despite living a peaceful civilian life in Davao, Duterte remains hugely popular.
His net satisfaction rating was 81 percent, a record high. The survey was conducted by polling firm Social Weather Station from 26 to 29 June — his last days as president.
Eligible to vote are members of National Assembly, including the chairman and the vice-chairman, national officers, presidents and secretary generals of all Regional Council, national committee chairpersons, Cabinet members, senators, member of the House of Representatives, governors, mayors, and chapter members in good standing.
Last May, Duterte’s PDP Laban was recognized by the Commission on Elections over the faction led by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
In a resolution, the Comelec said Duterte’s PDP Laban has the “true and official members” of the party.
“Considering that chairperson Duterte’s chairmanship is an undisputed and well-settled fact in the aforementioned dates, it is also undisputed that chairperson Duterte’s acts on even dates are valid and effective. The fact that he presided over the election of the new sets of party officers and committee chairpersons validates the entire process,” said the Comelec which also declared PDP Laban as the dominant majority party in the May elections.