Senate President Koko Pimentel III, in his capacity as President of the PDP Laban party, presided over the oath-taking of 35,000 new members of PDP Laban in Masbate.
35,000 new members of PDP Laban, drawn from all of the island province Masbate’s one component city, 20 municipalities, and 550 barangays, pledged to uphold the principles of the ruling party before Pimentel.
“PDP Laban’s strength lies not just in its members who are elected officials, but in its presence in the grassroots. And with 35,000 new members, the Party now has a formidable machinery in the province of Masbate”, said Pimentel.
Energy Secretary and PDP Laban Vice Chair Al Cusi, who also graced the ceremony, extolled the Party’s focus on the grassroots.
Cusi said, “PDP Laban is a party of the grassroots and not of the elite. Its original members were provincianos, the voiceless masses. Our recruitment drive is aimed at making sure that every province is heard in the Party’s discussions, and that we have the infrastructure to disseminate the Party’s message to every Filipino.”
The ceremony capped off a remarkable weekend for PDP Laban, which had similar ceremonies in Iloilo, which was led by House Speaker and Party Secretary General Bebot Alvarez, as well as in Biliran, Eastern Samar, Western Samar, and Siquijor.
The previous months also saw the Party assert its presence in Laguna, Cavite, Lanao del Norte, and Nueva Ecija in similar ceremonies.
Pimentel spoke at length about Federalism, one of the key advocacies of PDP Laban, during the ceremony.
PDP Laban is unique among other major political parties in the country in its practice of recruiting not just government officials, but ordinary citizens as well, to its ranks.