PDP-Laban nominates Duterte as presidential bet

MANILA, Philippines - Buoyed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he might run for president for the sake of the oppressed, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has nominated him as its standard bearer.

A source, quoting a PDP party official, told The STAR yesterday Duterte’s certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA) is ready for his signature.

 “It’s just a matter of time. The party will wait until Dec. 10,” the source said.

Once signed, the certificate will be submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec). 

The source said they consider Duterte’s statement a positive sign that he will consider signing the CONA.

An internal survey conducted by PDP-Laban showed that 90 percent of the respondents nationwide want Duterte to be the next president.  

Asked about the party’s possible vice presidential candidates, the source said they have yet to come up with a decision. 

Sens. Ferdinand Marcos, Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes, who have filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for vice president as independent, still have no standard bearers. 

The source said they would give Duterte a free hand to choose his running mate as well as his senatorial candidates.

Substitute candidate

Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite said it may no longer be possible for Duterte to join the presidential race unless PDP-Laban nominates him as a substitute candidate.

Barzaga, former chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reform, said the PDP-Laban could not nominate Duterte as substitute candidate for president because its supposed presidential bet, Martin Diño, did not file a COC for president.

 “The PDP-Laban can nominate a replacement for Mr. Diño as candidate for mayor of Pasay City, but not for president because Mr. Diño was not a presidential aspirant as shown in his COC. That is what the election law provides,” he said.

In a television interview last Oct. 30, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said there would be legal complications if PDP-Laban fields Duterte as a substitute candidate.

“First, we will have to look at Mr. Diño’s COC. I have not seen it, but if indeed he indicated that he was a candidate for mayor of Pasay City, then his political party could nominate a substitute for that position. They cannot nominate for another post,” Bautista said.

 “We will also have to determine if the nomination and acceptance should have been made at the same time that the original candidate withdraws his COC,” he added, though he pointed out that substitution by political parties is allowed until Dec. 10.

Diño admitted that his withdrawn COC showed that he was a candidate for Pasay City mayor, but said it was a clerical error made by the PDP-Laban headquarters.

“Why would I run for mayor of Pasay City? I am not even a Pasay resident. I am a resident of Quezon City (where he was a barangay chairman),” he said.

He said the Comelec recognized him as a presidential candidate when it sent him a letter asking him to justify his candidacy for the top elective post.

In withdrawing his COC on Oct. 29, Diño said he felt insulted by the Comelec letter. He wrote in his certificate of withdrawal the name of Duterte as his substitute.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Duterte’s presidential candidacy may no longer be possible due to the defect in Diño’s COC.

Macalintal said if PDP-Laban nominates the Davao mayor, the Comelec would have to reject the nomination.

Unfazed

Administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas is unfazed by the possibility that Duterte will run for president.         

“I don’t dwell too much on things that I cannot control or have no influence over. I think it shows our democratic space is alive and accommodating and can accommodate anyone with an ambition or desire to lead the country,” Roxas told The STAR editors, columnists, and reporters during a roundtable discussion. 

He also refused to comment on the possible effect of Duterte’s candidacy on other presidential rivals, adding he and his running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, would just focus on their campaign. 

“For Leni and I, it’s clear that we’re fighting for the continuation of daang matuwid (straight path), which is really the continuation of the anti-corruption drive that began in 2010,” Roxas said. –With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero