PDP-Laban about to burst into fragments

Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are bound to repeat them. The history of Philippine politics is a series of fragmentation of political parties. The Katipunan was fragmented by the rivalry between General Emilio Aguinaldo's Magdalo faction from Cavite and Supremo Andres Bonifacio's Magdiwang faction from Tondo. The old Nacionalista Party founded by President Manuel Quezon and Vice President Sergio Osmeña Sr. was split when Manuel Roxas opposed Osmeña. Roxas lost and forthwith bolted NP, founding the Liberal Party.

Both NP and LP have dominated Philippine politics since then. When Roxas died of a heart attack, he was replaced by his LP teammate, Elpidio Quirino. Quirino was opposed by his own appointee, a former Zambales congressman whom Quirino appointed as defense secretary, Ramon Magsaysay, an LP who transferred to NP and became its standard bearer. He won overwhelmingly. But Magsaysay died in a plane crash before finishing his term. His vice president and appointed DFA secretary, Carlos P. Garcia, took over Malacañang. In the following election, Garcia ran under NP and was opposed by Jose Yulo of LP. Garcia won over Yulo because the opposition was fragmented when Manuel Manahan also ran as an independent. Yulo's vice president, Diosdado Macapagal, won over Garcia's VP, Jose P. Laurel Jr. of NP. It was then an NP president and an LP vice president.

In 1961, Macapagal defeated NP's Carlos P. Garcia. But Macapagal was defeated by Ferdinand Marcos, NP. Actually both Macapagal and Marcos were LPs, but Marcos bolted LP and ran against Macapagal. The rest is history. From 1966 to 1986 or for 20 years, Marcos ruled the country mostly under Martial Law. He founded the KBL, which destroyed the two-party system. Both the NP and the LP “died” for 20 years, and until now have failed to revive their glories prior to martial law. To fight Marcos and Imelda, the late Ninoy Aquino founded Laban while under detention and Nene Pimentel founded PDP. Then the two coalesced and became PDP-Laban. Fast track to 2016, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wasn’t a member of PDP-Laban. He was adopted by the party and won under it. Today, this party is dominated by pro-Duterte underlings like Cusi and other subalterns.

Former vice president Jejomar Binay used to be a pillar of PDP-Laban. Binay and Nene Pimentel were the original anti-Marcos freedom fighters, with Diokno, Tañada, Salonga, and Ninoy. But somehow Coco Pimentel and Jojo Binay had a falling out and Binay founded UNA. When President Duterte won, his own people dominated PDP-Laban and even dropped the “Laban” part because this wing is closely aligned with the “yellow army” of PNoy, the son of Laban founder, Ninoy. They then enticed a very wealthy “Pacman” Pacquiao to become the party president because the party has no funds and only Pacman can fly from island to island with his own private plane. But approaching the 2022 presidential derby, opposing factions within this party are seeing the ambitions of Pacman and Sara colliding. Thus, they are now easing out Pacman. But Coco Pimentel is standing by Pacman and both of them are not attending the meeting that Cusi and his team of interlopers called for.

The writing on the wall points to the fragmentation of PDP and it is because this party is too small to have two presidential candidates, Inday Sara and Pacman, not counting Bong Go, the perennial Duterte proxy. I feel sad for PDP.

I look at Coco Pimentel like the poor Andres Bonifacio, who was cheated at the Tejeros Convention. The PDP is like the Katipunan. Since Coco and Manny will not recognize the decisions of Cusi's convention, PDP shall end in a Duterte Wing and a Pimentel-Pacquiao Wing. I recall the Cuenco Wing and the Avelino Wing of the LP. And, we, Cebuanos used to be divided into Osmenistas of Don Sergio and Serging Osmeña and Cuencuestas of Don Mariano Jesus and Don Miguel Cuenco. Then Osmeña and Cuenco fused when they found a common enemy; Ramon Durano.

Today, the Dutertes, (Durano's relatives) who are not original PDPs, are lording it over the party through their frontline proxy, Cusi. This is deja vu of Philippine history. The Katipunan founded by Bonifacio was grabbed by the Magdalos and they even tried the supremo in a kangaroo court for treason, and had him and his brothers liquidated in the mountains of Cavite. Bonifacio's young wife, Ka Oriang, was even molested and ravished by the killers of the Katipunan founder. These are the hard lessons of our politics which people do not seem to learn at all. I am sad.