Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will convene and lead the 2022 National Assembly and 40th Anniversary of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan at the Golden Bay Restaurant on Thursday, 29 September 2022.
PDP-Laban President Alfonso Cusi said that as the Party Chairman, Duterte will convene this year's National Assembly with the goal of continuing the legacy of the party as a trailblazer in nation-building and as a beacon of hope to all Filipinos as PDP-Laban celebrates its 40th anniversary.
The former President will also preside over the election of new officers of the party. The National Assembly has the theme "40 Years of Enlightened Nationalism."
In the recent PDP-Laban National Council Meeting, Duterte commended the more than 300 National Council members, including senators, congressmen, governors, city mayors, and other government officials who stayed with the party.
"Bilib ako sa mga taga-PDP Laban. Alam mo kung bakit bilib ako sa inyo? Ang mga miyembro ng PDP-Laban may prinsipyo. Kung wala kayong prinsipyo, lumukso na kayo sa kabila," he said.
"Truly life begins at 40, and this goes the same for PDP-Laban. The party and our Chairman, President Duterte, remain steadfast. And we have always stayed relevant to the needs of all our kababayan since we were founded in 1992," said Cusi.
"Right now, not only do we have four incumbent senators— Senators Robinhood "Robin" Padilla, Francis "Tol" Tolentino, Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, and Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa—but we also have 38 Congressmen, 23 Governors, 31 Vice Governors, 263 Provincial Board members, hundreds of Mayors and Vice Mayors, and thousands of city and municipal councilors under the PDP-Laban banner," added Cusi.
Duterte remained popular until his last days in office, getting an all-time record-high +81 net satisfaction score, polling firm Social Weather Stations stated on Friday.
According to the SWS report, Duterte's score garnered from surveys held from 26 to 29 June — his last days as President — beat a previous record held by him also, a +79 obtained in the November 2020 edition of the survey.
During the National Assembly, the PDP-Laban will once again choose its leaders. According to the PDP Laban Constitution, the voting Members of the National Assembly include the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman, National Officers, Presidents and Secretaries General of all Regional Council, National Committee Chairpersons, Cabinet Members, Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, Governors, HUC and ICC Mayors, and Chapters in good standing.
The Commission on Elections last May recognized former President Duterte's PDP-Laban over the faction led by Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III. In a resolution, the Comelec said that former President Duterte's PDP-Laban has the "true and official members" of the party.
"Considering that Chairman Duterte's chairmanship is an undisputed and well-settled fact in the aforementioned dates, it is also undisputed that Chairman Duterte's acts on even dates are valid and effective. The fact that he presided over the election of the new sets of party officers and committee chairpersons validates the entire process," the Comelec said.
The Comelec also declared PDP-Laban as the dominant majority party in the May elections.
