Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) Laban Vice Chairman and Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Monday said the PDP Laban National Council Assembly is for the party to support President Duterte’s COVID-19 response.
According to the press release, the party is also holding consultations with party members on how to support the President’s agenda as he enters his last year in office.
“The agenda of the PDP Laban National Council Assembly as clearly stated in our letter to party members is to assess where the party is, in terms of providing support to the programs of our Party Chairman, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Cusi said.
“We wish to reiterate that the assembly is part and parcel of the democratic process in PDP Laban,” Cusi said, adding that the holding of the National Council Assembly reflects one of the basic principles upon which PDP Laban is founded which is “consultative and participatory democracy.”
Cusi also said he fails to understand why some members of the party are discouraging members from attending the assembly when the calling of the National Council is vested in the Party Chairman or President Duterte.
“The Party Constitution clearly provides under Section 4 of Article XVI that President Duterte, as Party Chairman, has the sole power to call the meetings of the National Council and he has exercised this authority to call this particular meeting,” he said.
He explained that the said circular dissuading party members from attending has no legal basis since the Party Constitution is clear that the Party Chairman has the sole authority to call meetings of the National Council.
“The composition of the PDP Laban National Council shows that it is a body where meaningful exchange of ideas can be made. This is particularly important in light of our collective effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
“This meeting will be the first major meeting of the party since the start of the pandemic,“ he said. -rir
