It almost final: Senator Christoper Lawrence “Bong” Go and President Rodrigo Duterte will run for president and vice president, respectively, under the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in 2022.
PDP-Laban Secretary General Melvin Matibag said the formal declaration of the Go-Duterte tandem will be on September 8 during the party’s national convention.
He added that the Go-Duterte tandem was discussed during a virtual meeting of the party’s national executive council and officers on Wednesday.
“There was an endorsement that they undergo the process of nomination during the national convention on September 8. It was unanimous — every member of the national executive committee and its officers,” Matibag told a national daily.
“There was already an endorsement that the tandem of Go and Duterte be subjected to the national convention on September 8,” he added.
PDP-Laban president and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that Go-Duterte tandem will be confirmed by the party’s national executive council.
“In our PDP national executive council meeting yesterday, It was agreed to present to the forthcoming national convention the tandem of Go-Duterte for 2022 election,” he said.
Although Go has been non-committal in running for president in 2022, he exhibited the same behavior when he was urged to run for senator.
The move to formalize the Go-Duterte tandem will shut out any chances for Senator Manny Pacquiao to become the standard bearer of the ruling party in 2022. Pacquiao was ousted last month as party president. Cusi was elected as the new PDP-Laban president.
