DAVAO CITY — Members of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), this time without the words “Laban ng Bayan” regrouped in Cebu City to celebrate their 42nd anniversary and held their national council meeting on Friday.
The event, according to PDP’s social media page, was attended by around 1,500 individuals composed of officers, members, and supporters of the party.
What is more significant on the occasion was the dropping of the words “Laban ng Bayan” as part of the party’s name.
The members present voted to drop the Lakas ng Bayan, or Laban, from its name.
The PDP was founded in February 6, 1982 in Cebu City by the late Senator Aquilino Pimentel, it was a group of protesters against the authoritarian government of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the father of President.
In February 2, 1983, PDP formally merged with Lakas ng Bayan, the party founded by former senator Benigno Aquino Jr in 1978.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte who chairs the party in his message said he was happy that the group met again,
“I am not against anybody going out of the party and changing party lines. I do not have an opinion — I do not have a judgment on that. I do not have anything to say,” said Duterte.
A huge number of PDP members abandoned the party when Duterte’s term ended in 2022 and joined the administration’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The party announced that it will support the candidacy of Senators Bong Go, Ronald Dela Rosa, and Francis Tolentino in the 2025 senatorial elections and announced the inclusion of former actor Philip Salvador in its potential lineup.
Davao del Norte First District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez said they held the meeting in Cebu City because party stalwart Mayor Mike Rama is the Mayor.
