Founding father of PDDS

When he ran and won the May, 2016 presidential elections, former Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte categorically included in his campaign platform to push for the shift to federal system of government in the Philippines.

But such shift in the system of government would require the amendments of the country’s 1987 Constitution.

As in the past efforts to amend the basic laws of the land, every Charter change (Cha-cha) attempts never saw the light of day. Thus, the proposed shift to federalism also failed to get through the 17th Congress. Neither it did with the outgoing 18th Congress which along with President Duterte will wind down their terms of office on June 30 next year.

Bankrolled and supported by the Duterte administration, the group of like-minded government officials and individuals behind the federalism campaign quietly turned themselves into a national political group. They registered under the name Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in 2018. With President Duterte and then Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go as the moving spirit behind the shift to federalism, the PDDS came into being.

PDDS president Greco Belgica narrated this brief history of their party last Wednesday during our virtual news forum at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay. Belgica, erstwhile chairman of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), asserted both President Duterte and now incumbent Senator Go are, in fact, the founders of their “people’s party” they organized for this purpose. Presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte is recognized as one of the “national” advisers of the PDDS, Belgica added.

“This is a party organized to pursue the aspirations of President Duterte after his term,” Belgica disclosed, adding: “Sa kanila po iyan. (It belongs to them).” A year after it was organized, Belgica recalled, the PDDS fielded 5,000 candidates from Governors to Mayors and to other local posts all over the country during the mid-term elections in May, 2019.

According to him, only 42 of PDDS candidates won. This included Sen.Go, Occidental Mindoro Gov. Eduardo Gadiano, and other un-named local government officials. The PDDS has no congressional candidate, he admitted.

Belgica clarified these issues following the filing one after the other of substitute candidates of the PDDS for the May 9, 2022 national and local elections before the Comelec deadline. As endorsed by President Duterte, the PDDS named Go as their party’s presidential standard-bearer. In a twist of political tactics, Go substituted for Grepor “Butch” Belgica, the pastor-father of the erstwhile PACC chief.

President Duterte, in turn, substituted as Senatorial candidate for another PDDS placeholder bet Mona Lisa Visorde. Along with the younger Belgica, the PDDS fielded President Duterte to lead their senatorial ticket. Go was originally the VP candidate of the PDP-Laban with Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa as their party’s last-minute presidential standard-bearer. However, both Dela Rosa and Go withdrew their original certificates of candidacy (COC) last Saturday.

Thus, the otherwise little-known existence of the PDDS came into the national limelight.

Belgica explained the substitutions were made feasible by the alliance agreement that the PDDS entered into with PDP-Laban on Sept. 23, or a week before the filing of the COCs on Oct. 1-8. President Duterte is the nominal chieftain of the ruling administration party PDP-Laban. Currently the intra-party dispute between the camps of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as vice chairman and erstwhile PDP-Laban chief Sen.Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III remains pending before the Comelec.

In the meantime, Belgica pointed out, both the PDP-Laban and PDDS decided to protect and secure the candidacies of their top two bets. Contrary to claims by opposition quarters, Belgica asserted, every step of the substitution was done in the proper order in compliance with the existing rules and regulations.

For his “personal preference though,” Belgica echoed wish Mayor Sara would allow the PDDS to adopt her as their VP bet. Whether she accepts this or not, Belgica promises their full support to Mayor Sara’s VP bid. Belgica described as a “perfect scenario” if Sen. Go makes it to the presidency, and Mayor Sara wins as VP along with President Duterte as Senator.

Despite consistently topping the mock polls among probable presidential aspirants, Mr. Duterte’s daughter initially decided for re-election as Davao City Mayor. As expected, Mayor Sara withdrew her re-election bid last week and instead substituted as vice presidential (VP) candidate of the Lakas-CMD. This was hours after she was sworn in to become member of the Lakas-CMD party a day after she quit from her own regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago. She was later made the chairman of the Lakas-CMD.

Jumping the gun, Partido Federal chieftain, ex-Sen.Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr. who was earlier fielded as their presidential candidate, immediately adopted Mayor Sara as his VP runningmate. The BBM-Sara tandem was officially sealed the other day.

Also a guest at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay was re-electionist Senator Sherwin Gatchalian who welcomed the entry of President Duterte in the 12-man Senate race. Gatchalian is running for his second and last term at the Senate under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). Originally, Gatchalian contemplated to run for VP. He admitted having “courted” Mayor Sara to be her VP runningmate should she decide to run for the presidency.

“There were only two women I have courted in my life, Mayor Sara and the other is now my girlfriend,” Gatchalian quipped and guffawed. The 47-year-old bachelor Senator refers to his fiancé beauty queen-turned actress Bianca Manalo.

In the end, Gatchalian gave way to NPC chieftain, Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto III who declared his VP bid ahead of him. Gatchalian and other senatorial bets will now face 76-year-old President Duterte, “founding father” of the PDDS, in the 12-man Senate race.