Former President Rodrigo Duterte will stay as the national chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP).
He also named the party’s first four official candidates for senator in next year’s midterm elections.
During the party’s National Council Meeting and 42nd Anniversary Celebration held in Cebu, Duterte endorsed the reelection bid of incumbent Senators Christopher Go, Ronald de la Rosa, and Francis Tolentino, and former movie actor Philip Salvador, who accepted the nomination to be part of the senatorial lineup for the 2025 elections.
The former president expressed gratitude to supporters for their unwavering belief in the party and emphasized the importance of a democratic country in his opening remarks.
Meanwhile, according to Dela Rosa, he along with Tolentino, Go, and Salvador, are running for reelection to strengthen the PDP’s representation in the Upper Chamber, now dominated by friends and allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Dela Rosa pledged to fight for PDP’s principles and promised to never compromise the integrity or use the party for personal gain, stating they would fight for the cause of members until their last breath.
The senator also acknowledged the decision of former party mates to transfer to other political parties but remained hopeful for their return to PDP.
Also present during the event were PDP President and Palawan Rep. Jose Chavez Alvarez, PDP Vice Chairman Alfonso Cusi, Senator and PDP Executive Vice President Robin Padilla, Cebu City Mayor, and PDP VP for Visayas Mike Rama.
More than 1,300 composed of officers, members, and party supporters attended the gathering.
In 2016, then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a presidential aspirant, assumed the party’s chairmanship on the eve of his proclamation rally in Tondo, Manila.
Duterte replaced former South Cotabato governor Ismael Sueno.
That year, party members expressed belief that Duterte would “help restore the rule of law which is a prerequisite for sustained economic growth and social development.”
Then PDP-Laban was a coalition between the Lakas ng Bayan party founded by the late former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1978, and the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) founded in 1982 by the late former Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr.
