The faction of the ruling party's PDP-Laban led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi will hold its national convention on Sept. 8, where members are expected to vote on its official slate for the May 9, 2022 national elections.
In a notice sent to the media on Monday, PDP-Laban Secretary General Melvin Matibag said the national convention venue had been changed to comply with quarantine guidelines.
“The National Assembly shall nominate and proclaim the party’s official candidates in the coming national election during the scheduled national convention,” Matibag said.
The PDP-Laban has endorsed the tandem of Senator Christopher Go—who rejected the party’s nomination—and President Rodrigo Duterte, who accepted it, for its standard-bearers in the 2022 elections.
Meanwhile, a senior congressman on Monday questioned the political surveys by a research group that has gained prominence because of its accurate predictions on the COVID-19 situation.
Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza on Monday asked why the independent OCTA Research Group is conducting political surveys previously dominated by Pulse and SWS.
In addition to issuing regular projections on the COVID-19 pandemic, OCTA Research has been releasing survey results in relation to the coming national elections.
Last month, OCTA Research released results of presidential and vice presidential polls topped by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, respectively.
OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye explained that the group had two separate research components, one is its COVID-related research and the other one is its public opinion research.
At the same time, he said the work done by the group was purely voluntary.
"Sir, we are a research group which has two research components, one is dealing with COVID research, the other is dealing with public opinion research. In our public opinion research, we have been providing the public the outputs of our surveys since January of this year. There's no problem with that," Rye said.
He added that public opinion research was important for the country's democracy, governance, and even in the battle against COVID-19.
Atienza, however, insisted that OCTA Research was not a political research group.
He also urged his colleagues in the chamber to file a resolution that will "not allow or at least condemn this malpractice of somebody positioning himself prominently in the face of a pandemic and projecting political developments in the country."
House Resolution 2075, which is the basis for the hearing, directed the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to conduct an inquiry “in aid of legislation” on the qualifications, research methodologies, partnerships, and composition of OCTA Research Philippines.
Several congressmen filed the resolution in the wake of the statement of Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the government’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19, that assailed OCTA for its allegedly “unsound projections and for sowing panic among the population.”
During a congressional inquiry, Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian asked OCTA Research if the group is being funded by a foreign entity or any private companies.
"The OCTA Research Group is a private organization… If you're talking about COVID research, sir, it's not funded by any entity, both private and public, this is voluntary," Rye said.
OCTA Research is mainly for public service, according to Rye.
In a related development, a people’s movement called Hugpong Para kay Sara (HPS) revealed an economic roadmap for the next six years which Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio—who has not announced if she was running or not—can study and base her decision whether to run for President in 2022, or not.
Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera, spokesperson of HPS, which she said will be launched anytime soon, said the group has begun gathering relevant data through "in-depth research studies" on issues paramount to various sectors in the country.
These include an economic recovery plan for the coronavirus pandemic, poverty, China-US relations, West China Sea, human rights, unemployment, drug war, extrajudicial killings, and the state of the nation’s education system, among others.
PDP-Laban’s Cusi faction has also revealed its partial senatorial slate, which included House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gringo Honasan, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.
In the notice, voting members of the national assembly will be given priority access to the venue, which includes the party’s chairman, vice chairman of the national council, national officers, presidents and secretaries-general, cabinet members, and lawmakers.
All members attending the convention physically are required to present a COVID-19 swab test taken not more than 48 hours prior to the event. On-site antigen testing will also be conducted.
Herrera, nominee of the Bagong Henerasyon party-list group, said the results of these research studies would be crucial in helping Mayor Sara make one of the most difficult decisions in her political life.
HPS, a citizen’s movement composed of various groups, academe, lawmakers, and marginalized sectors, was formed to convince Duterte-Carpio to run for the highest post of the land. It will be officially launched on September 12.
The mayor is married to a scion of the Carpio clan from Paoay, Ilocos Norte. Mans Carpio is the nephew of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.
“We’ve set up HPS and are now snowballing through the regions as people from all sectors, walks of life, and political inclinations are joining it as we go along,” declared Herrera.
Herrera said the movement banded together because they saw in Duterte-Carpio what they called all the qualities to continue the legacy of her father and could improve on it to help the country and the economy in the next six years.
“She is the perfect person with her personality and being confident, yet quiet and reserved (but a fighter with compassion for the country),” Herrera said during an interview with Radyo Pilipinas.
Herrera reiterated her appeal to HPS supporters to join them in convincing Mayor Duterte-Carpio to seek the highest post in the land.
In Bicol, various local groups in Legaspi City and Ligao City, Albay, and Masbate were also established.
Cezar Bordeos Jr., the son of the former Legazpi Mayor and Judge Cezar Bordeos Sr., a known long-time supporter of the Liberal Party, is the vice president of the Legazpi City chapter.
Other chapters are also claimed as being formed in Nueva Ecija, General Trias in Cavite, Lipa City in Batangas, as well as in seven municipalities of Sarangani province.