Trouble in ruling party: Mindanao bloc bolts PDP-Laban

MANILA, Philippines — Over 200 members of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) from Mindanao have defected from the ruling party.

The so-called Mindanao bloc has issued a resolution declaring the group as independent from the PDP-Laban national council, which is led by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III as president and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez as secretary general.

Cesar Cuntapay, one of the regional heads of the party in Mindanao and president of the Mindanao Area Council, said they would continue to support President Duterte as chairman of PDP-Laban.

Cuntapay cited as reason for the breakaway the alleged repeated gross violations of the party’s constitution, including the illegal process of accepting members, making decisions outside of the National Assembly and National Council, and the neglect of the party principle on consultative and participatory democracy by Pimentel, Alvarez and Astra Naik, chairman of the party’s membership committee.

In its resolution, the Mindanao bloc said they would exercise the organizational and administrative management of the party in Mindanao until such time that the unconstitutional actions of the national officers stop and all the violations committed in the past are rectified.

The breakup, an offshoot of the meeting in Tagum where Alvarez was declared “persona non grata” and the Sept. 15 gathering of regional council presidents in Davao City, came at a time when the Speaker’s national ratings plunged to a one-digit figure. 

Apart from Cuntapay, the other signatories of the resolution were Cesar Ledesma, one of the founders of the party, and lawyer Rogelio Garcia, Region 12 council president and former labor undersecretary.

Cuntapay said several attempts to hold a dialogue with the national officers to discuss issues and problems were not given due attention.

The group said they could no longer tolerate the violations of the party principles and constitution committed by the national officers that caused disunity and confusion within PDP-Laban.

Earlier, five PDP-Laban members from Mindanao were expelled due to “disloyalty to the party and its leaders.”

Removed from the party roster were Davao del Norte (1st District) Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr., Ledesama, Cuntapay, Garcia and Noli Garcia of Zamboanga, who filed the motion declaring Alvarez persona non grata during the Tagum City meeting.