Lakas-CMD will mobilize its entire machinery to ensure victory for Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio should she run for president in the 2022 national polls.
“If Mayor Sara finally decides to run for President in 2022, we will support her. We will mobilize the entire machinery of Lakas-CMD—from the national level down to governors, congressmen, mayors, and councilors—to ensure her victory,” said House Majority Leader and Lakas-CMD president Martin Romualdez.
Lakas-CMD was the first political party to announce it is renewing its alliance with Mayor Sara’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
“This alliance binds our party to support whoever is chosen by HNP as their candidates for President and Vice President. Lakas-CMD will extend its full and unqualified support,” said Romualdez, who is also the president of the Philippine Constitution Association.
Duterte-Carpio on Friday said she is now “open” to running for president in the 2022 national elections during the sidelines of her meeting with Gov. Gwen Garcia at the Provincial Capitol.
HNP is poised to form a super-coalition that counts among its possible members Lakas-CMD, National Unity Party, Nacionalista Party, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, and the People’s Reform Party.
Pacquiao camp ready to slug it out
Meanwhile, the PDP-Laban faction under party president Sen. Manny Pacquiao said it will not surrender the leadership of the ruling party without a fight.
The Pacquiao wing on Friday expelled party vice chairman Energy Sec. Alfonsi Cusi, deputy secretary-general Melvin Matibag and membership committee head Astra Naik for alleged violations of the PDP-Laban’s constitution.
“PDP-Laba under the leadership of Sen. Pacquiao and the guidance of Sen. Koko Pimentel will not surrender the fight to them. That will not happen,” said Pines Arcega, chairman of the party’s National Executive Committee.
Pimentel, for his part, said Cusi’s group was not forthright in their choice for standard bearer for next year’s pills.
“The problem is they are not honest with their bets. The camp of Senator Pacquiao is already grooming him for the national elections. It is not clear whether they have their own bet from within the party or from other parties. This could have been solved if they were forthright instead of hiding their choices from us,” Pimentel said in a radio interview.