APPALLED by the nasty remarks issued to the administration, a faction of the ruling party urged Senator Manny Pacquiao to leave the dominant Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP) even before he gets kicked out when the party convenes for a general assembly on July 17.
Interviewed over television, PDP-Laban party vice-chairman Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that it is improper for Pacquiao, who is the acting President of the dominant political party, to hurl accusations at the party chairman, apparently referring to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Cusi however said that Pacquiao by all means may do that provided he leaves the party where the President is the chairman.
“It’s really unfortunate that the acting president of the party is accusing the chairman, who is the president of the country, of those things that Sen. Pacquiao said openly,” Cusi was quoted as saying during the interview.
“Hindi po naman siguro tama yun na sarili mong bahay susunugin mo. If you don’t like your house…don’t say something about it, lumayas ka muna bago mo sunugin ang bahay mo,” he added.
Cusi’s statement came day after Duterte in his most recent national address slammed Pacquiao over claims that the current administration breeds three times more graft that the previous ones. During the same national address, the President also dared the forming boxing champ to name corrupt government agencies – or face the consequences of a political doom.
Duterte said he would campaign hard against Pacquiao, who has openly admitted wanting to run for president in time for the 2022 general elections, if he fails to prove his allegations in one week.
But even before the President blew his top, Pacquiao was also at the receiving end of Duterte’s nasty remarks. Previously, he told Pacquiao to “study first” after the latter was found as “lacking” the Chief Executive’s recent stance on the country’s maritime dispute with China.
Earlier, PDP-Laban executive director Ron Munsayac, who is allied with Pacquiao, said the senator intends to stay with the party. According to Munsayac, members of PDP-Laban are still “confident” in Pacquiao’s leadership.