PDP-Laban faction threatens to expel Pacquiao for allegedly creating new party
MANILA, Philippines — The faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan headed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi is threatening to expel Sen. Manny Pacquiao over reports that he is in the process of converting his local party into a national party.
Melvin Matibag, secretary general of PDP-Laban’s Cusi wing, said Thursday in a statement that Pacquiao’s alleged moves to turn the People’s Champ Movement into a national party is a “major ground for expulsion” from the ruling party.
"Senator Emmanuel 'Manny' Pacquiao's latest punch has virtually created for himself a rabbit hole — one that could lead to his expulsion from PDP-Laban," Matibag said.
Notes on a meeting purportedly held on December 20, 2020 in General Santos City were first posted by SMNI News and allegedly show that the central committee of the People’s Champ Movement, which Pacquiao is president of, met to amend the party’s constitution and by-laws for it to become a national political party.
At the same meeting, Pacquiao was replaced by Lorelie Pacquiao as president of the People’s Champ Movement.
Philstar.com has reached out to Sen. Pacquiao’s office to confirm if the People’s Champ Movement is turning itself into a national party. The senator is in the US in preparation for a boxing match on August 21.
Philstar.com also asked the Commission on Elections if it has received and approved a petition for registration for People’s Champ Movement to become a national party.
Blow to Pacquiao
Pacquiao’s potential expulsion from PDP-Laban would be the latest blow that he may suffer from the Cusi wing.
In July, the Cusi faction knocked out Pacquiao as the party’s president in a national assembly that the wing led by the boxer-turned-senator branded as “illegal.”
Claiming the support of more than 100 PDP-Laban chapters nationwide, the Pacquiao group said that all actions made at the Cusi-led assembly have no force and effect over the party.
The two groups, both claiming to be the legitimate PDP-Laban have separately submitted lists of their party officers to the Comelec.
The poll body is expected to decide which of the two PDP-Laban factions is the legitimate ruling party based on who among them followed party rules.
Pacquiao is widely rumored to run for president in the 2022 elections, where he might go against Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and his former longtime aide, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go.
Go and President Duterte have been endorsed by top officials of the Cusi wing of PDP-Laban to become its presidential and vice presidential candidates in next year’s polls.
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