“If you think Duterte as PDP chairman is bad enough, worse still, or deeply disturbing, is the presence of actor Robinhhood Padilla as PDP president”
The Grand Old Man of Philippine politics, the late Lorenzo Tañada, must be turning in his grave now that the political party he co-founded with Benigno S. Aquino, LABAN or Laban ng Bayang Pilipino, has been hijacked by politicians whose commitment to democratic and libertarian ideals are highly suspect—or even totally non-existent in the first place.
The Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP) was founded by Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, who had been thrown into prison several times by the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
He later became a senator and Senate President, but lost in an earlier bid as Vice President along with his running mate Sen. Jovito Salonga in the 1992 elections won by Fidel V. Ramos.
It merged with LABAN because they shared the same unflinching stand in upholding democracy and fighting dictatorship.
But what was once a highly respected political party has transformed into its diametrical opposite since 2016, when Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency as standard bearer of PDP-LABAN.
The political party recently junked “LABAN” from its official name. And rightly so, as its platform pays only lip service to democracy, due process and human rights since Duterte seized it for his own twisted ends.
With Duterte at the helm of PDP, we can be certain that it will continue to be battering ram against democracy and the rule of law, and a political vehicle that will lead the nation off the rails into perdition. Duterte now wants to retake his seat as Davao City Mayor after a six-year term as Chief Executive from 2016 to 2022, and is said to be even contemplating another bid for the presidency in 2028 if daughter Sara cannot do so for one reason or another.
If you think Duterte as PDP chairman is bad enough, worse still, or deeply disturbing, is the presence of actor Robinhhood Padilla as PDP president.
This fellow topped the senatorial race in 2022 apparently on the basis of his popularity as a movie star. But obviously popularity does not automatically translate into incisive analysis of issues of grave national import nor an eloquent and authoritative voice in floor debates in the august halls of the Senate.
We recall that television cameras caught Padilla combing his moustache while attending a session, perhaps showing total disinterest in what was being discussed by his colleagues.
We also recall that he was convicted by a court for illegal possession of firearms and spent time in the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa but was granted unconditional pardon by then President Fidel V. Ramos for reasons that escape us now—or would rather forget.
We’re afraid that every time he opens his mouth, he tends to subtract from the sum of human intelligence rather than add to it.
Duterte and Padilla presided over the recent introduction of the PDP senatorial slate at the start of the campaign period.
This would probably also make the late Nene Pimentel not just turn but perhaps even spin in his grave out of sheer disgust at what the political party has become at present.
During the proclamation rally, Duterte did it again, reprising his “kill-kill-kill” mantra in 2016.
Here’s what he actually said as reported by media: “Now, there’s many of them (candidates for senator). What should we do? Let’s kill the senators now to create vacancies…If we can kill around 15 senators, we can all go in. But they’d be pitiful. Yet they’re irritating—not all of them though. Talking of opportunities, the only way to do it is to use a bomb.”
While Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and even National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago dismissed these as “just rhetoric, part of their political propaganda,” Major General Nicanor Torre III, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police, doesn’t think so.
He has filed an inciting to sedition charge and unlawful utterances against the former president before the DOJ.
We deeply deplore the descent to the depths of depravity and decay of PDP under Duterte and Padilla and their loyal followers as we were among those who helped in Nene Pimentel’s bid for the vice presidency in 1992 with the illustrious Senator Jovito Salonga as presidential standard bearer.
While we had expected Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to be able to defend the ramparts of our democratic system and keep intact the party’s integrity and firm stance on good governance, we can understand that there may have been more powerful forces at work within the party that eventually allowed it to fall into the wrong hands.
(Email:ernhil@yahoo.com)
