PDP-Laban denounces Pimentel’s ‘illegal’ use of party name

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on Thursday condemned Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III for what it called the “misuse” of the party’s name.

In particular, the party denounced Pimentel's “illegal use” of the PDP-Laban name in his official letter addressed to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, in which he called for an immediate action on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Pimentel no longer has any legal or moral right to use the name PDP Laban because the Commission on Elections has ruled with finality on March 23, 2023 that the group led by former President Rodrigo Duterte is the true and legitimate PDP Laban,” the party said.

It continued, “Therefore, only the group led by President Duterte has the right to use the party name.

The party also said that Pimentel has the PDP-Laban and has transferred to the Nacionalista party.

“He is running for the first Congressional District Representative of Marikina under the banner of the Nacionalista Party as reflected in his Certificate of Candidacy,” the statement read.

“Therefore, the PDP Laban kindly requests the Honorable Senator to refrain from misusing the name PDP Laban and misleading the Filipino people about his current party affiliation,” it added.

The party also reiterated its firm position against the impeachment of Duterte, the eldest daughter of the former president, the party chairman.

“The party is vehemently opposed to the impeachment of the Vice President and his use of the PDP Laban name in an official letter to the Senate President makes it appear that the party has taken a different position,” it said.

The Commission on Elections en banc in 2023 upheld the decision of its second division declaring the PDP-Laban-wing led by former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the “true and official.”

Cusi filed a petition to the poll body in 2021 to declare the Pimentel-led PDP-Laban faction as illegitimate.

Days before the May 2022 elections, the second division of Comelec granted Cusi’s petition over the Pimentel-Manny Pacquiao-led faction in its 11-page resolution.

The poll body also ruled Cusi wing’s national assembly held in Pampanga in July 2022 as valid, where Pimentel and Pacquiao were expelled from the party as party president and chairman.

The Senate minority leader’s father, Senate President, and party cofounder Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. established the PDP-Laban with the late senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. in 1982 as an opposition coalition against the dictatorship of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

In a strange turn of events, the PDP-Laban led by Cusi, supported the presidential bid of Marcos’ son and namesake Bongbong, which Pimentel previously described as a "total anti-thesis of everything PDP-Laban stands for."