Tolentino urged to resign from PDP

MANILA, Philippines — New Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) president Sen. Robinhood Padilla has advised his the Senate colleague,  Sen. Francis Tolentino, to resign from the erstwhile ruling political party.

Padilla issued a statement yesterday urging Tolentino not only to resign, but also to relinquish his post as PDP vice president for Luzon.

Padilla seemed to offer Tolentino a graceful exit, saying that without a key position in PDP, Tolentino can focus on his duties as Senate majority leader.

“Because of your new mandate in the Senate, I humbly propose that it would be good if you resigned from PDP-Laban. This is to prevent questioning of our fairness in addressing issues, especially political ones,” Padilla said.

Padilla said his call showed his independence as a new leader of the political party of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“This would help the party show it is unbiased and independent. Again, I stress I wish for nothing else but to support your good work and mission,” Padilla said.

Padilla was previously PDP’s executive vice president before he took over as president from Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Chaves Alvarez, who had resigned from his position.

Tolentino was included in the PDP’s Senate lineup for the midterm elections, with fellow reelectionists Sens. Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go.

But his rumored plan of resigning from PDP may further trim down Duterte’s Senate lineup. Padilla’s statement seemed to confirm the rumors of Tolentino’s pending resignation.

In a statement yesterday, Tolentino evaded questions about his political plans, citing the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and the flooding in Metro Manila due to enhanced monsoon rains.

“Let us not talk politics at a time we should be helping people affected by the typhoon,” Tolentino said.