The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan has tightened its grip on the island of Masbate after 35,000 local officials jumped ship and joined the party of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, the ruling party’s president, presided over the oath-taking of new PDP-Laban members in Masbate on Sunday.
The new members came from the island province’s 20 municipalities, one component city, and 550 barangays, and pledged to uphold the principles of the party before Pimentel.
“PDP-Laban’s strength lies not just in its members who are elected officials, but in its presence in the grassroots. And with 35,000 new members, the Party now has a formidable machinery in the province of Masbate,” said Pimentel.
Pimentel spoke at length about federalism, one of the key advocacies of PDP-Laban, during the ceremony.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, the PDP-Laban vice chairman who also graced the ceremony, extolled the party’s focus on the grassroots.
Cusi noted that PDP-Laban “is a party of the grassroots and not of the elite. Its original members were provincianos, the voiceless masses.”
“Our recruitment drive is aimed at making sure that every province is heard in the party’s discussions, and that we have the infrastructure to disseminate the party’s message to every Filipino,” Cusi said.
The ceremony capped off a remarkable weekend for PDP-Laban, which had similar ceremonies in Iloilo, led by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the party’s secretary general, as well as in Biliran, Eastern Samar, Western Samar, and Siquijor.
In previous months, the party also asserted its presence in Laguna, Cavite, Lanao del Norte, and Nueva Ecija in similar oath-taking events.
In Iloilo, Alvarez invited Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor openly to join the ruling party, but was noncommittal about inviting Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, whom President Duterte has accused of being involved in illegal drugs.
Alvarez twice called on Defensor to join the party last Sunday, during a mass oath-taking of 4,000 new members of the PDP-Laban at the Iloilo Convention Center.
Alvarez said having Defensor join the party would help accelerate the implementation of government projects in Iloilo province.
Defensor, who was on the stage with other officials, including his son, Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor Jr., is a member of the Liberal Party, which ruled under the Aquino administration.