SEE: Oath of Sen. Manny Pacquiao as PDP-Laban acting National Party President and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco as new acting Executive Vice President @DZMMTeleRadyo @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/VT7XPItocA
- Joyce Balancio (@joycebalancio) December 2, 2020
Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday night was installed the acting national president of the ruling PDP-Laban party.
House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, meanwhile, was named the party’s acting national executive vice president.
PDP-Laban is the political party of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The oath-taking took place during the party’s fellowship night in Quezon City.
Sen. Koko Pimentel, the outgoing national party president, said Pacquiao will bring in new and modern ideas the political party needs ahead of the 2022 national elections.
“Fair but firm, this is the kind of leadership that you can expect from Manny Pacquiao PDP-Laban Party President,” Pacquiao said.
“To be given this rare opportunity to lead the PDP-Laban is an immense honor and responsibility. By God’s grace, I will not waste this platform that you have entrusted me. ”
Velasco also accepted the appointment as the party’s acting executive vice president.
The Marinduque lone district representative was offered to become the party’s secretary general to replace Davao del Norte, 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, but he refused.
“I told Sen. Therefore that there are a lot of work in the House of Representatives that I really need to focus on, ”Velasco said in his acceptance speech.
The post left by Alvarez remained vacant, and the party said it respected Alvarez’s decision to leave PDL-Laban.
“Not yet. We are going to discuss that who deserves and fits that position. We are a democracy. Anyone can go out from the party, leave the party what they decided, so we respect that, ”Pacquiao said.
(Who will come in to take that position is up for discussion. We are a democracy. Anyone can leave the party if he wishes. We respect that.)
Pacquiao, meanwhile, refused to comment on the Duterte-Duterte tandem proposed by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.
Panelo previously suggested that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte run as president, while her father will be her running mate.
“In terms of politics, I do not want to talk about politics. What we should talk about and what we can do to help our countrymen who are hungry, suffering without homes, ”said Pacquiao.
“There are no elections yet, it is still far away and that should not be discussed yet.”
(Let’s not talk politics. We should focus on helping our hungry countrymen, the poor and have no shelter. The elections are still far away, let’s not talk about it.) - Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News