The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan, or PDP Laban, formerly chaired by ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, continues to lose its members to Speaker Martin Romualdez's Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
Three more lawmakers left PDP Laban on Tuesday to move to Lakas-CMD, with Romualdez administering the party oath to them in his office.
Masbate Representatives Richard Kho, Olga Kho, and Wilton Kho were the latest to join Lakas-CMD, bringing the total number of party members in the House to 89.
Last week, PDP Laban lawmakers Rosemarie Conejos Panotes, Dale Corvera and Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy took their oath as Lakas-CMD members before Romualdez.
The Romualdez-led party welcomed 17 town mayors and a vice mayor from different political parties, including PDP Laban.
"We are elated to welcome our colleagues and local officials who, we believe, share our deep commitment to help our beloved President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. further grow our economy, create more income and job opportunities, and make food products accessible and affordable. In sum, to make life generally better for our people," Romualdez said.
PDP Laban members have now dwindled to eight, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, the party's vice president for Mindanao, confirmed to the Daily Tribune in a text message.
He disclosed that of the eight left, three more members are planning to leave.
"The members of the PDP in the House can not anymore reconcile their duties as member of Congress vis a vis their duties as members of the party PDP [because] it seems the party is going in another direction," Pimentel told this paper.
Pimentel also departed from the party on 16 November.
Romualdez has been the subject of former president Duterte's tirades over the decision of the House to deny the request of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, for P650 million in confidential funds for the OVP and the Department of Education.
The VP had shared with Romualdez the leadership of the ruling Lakas-CMD. The two are seen as prime candidates for president in 2028.
The House channeled the confidential funds to agencies handling national security concerns like China's persistent encroachment in the West Philippine Sea.
The realignment of the budget enraged the senior Duterte, prompting him to slam Congress, calling it the "most rotten" institution in the country, and accusing it of having a "hidden pork barrel.
Back in May, the VP, who served as the chairperson of Lakas-CMD, left the party following the demotion of the former president, now Pampanga lawmaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a close ally of the Dutertes, from her senior deputy speaker post amid a "coup" plot against Romualdez.
The number of PDP Laban members continued to decline from 65 at the start of the 19th Congress last year over the Duterte-Romualdez row.
On 6 November, senior deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales, who replaced Arroyo, resigned from his national treasurer post in PDP Laban after the elder Duterte's attacks.
On the same day, the House passed a resolution upholding the integrity and honor of the House and expressing solidarity and appreciation for Romualdez's leadership.
