• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Unfazed by the resignation of about 60 Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) members in Negros Occidental, lawyer Jesus Hinlo Jr., PDP deputy secretary general for Visayas, said on Wednesday (May 29) that their core group in the province remains intact and the party is even expanding.
“We respect and accept their decision. We wish them well as we continue our own advocacies and remain with PDP,” Hinlo said.
About 60 officials and members of the PDP in Negros Occidental resigned en masse from the political party, its provincial chairman, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, said on May 27.
The PDP, which dropped the Laban (Lakas ng Bayan) a couple of months ago, is chaired by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Hinlo said those who resigned are not part of the group he had established in 2014 to 2016 as he recalled that they had only two mayors then, former Don Salvador Benedicto Mayor Jose Max Ortiz and former Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña.
The resigned PDP members only came in when Duterte assumed the presidency, he added.
Hinlo said that they have yet to receive a copy of the resignation letter from the said 60 members.
Benitez said that despite being PDP members, they were not invited to any of the party gatherings and meetings.
Those who resigned included eight mayors and five vice mayors while the rest were councilors.
Benitez said he expects the number to increase as more have also signified their intention to resign.
Moreover, Hinlo said they are quietly recruiting members.
He added that former Victorias City Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca, who is now a PDP member, is still in the process of consultation on whether to challenge Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson’s reelection bid in the 2025 midterm elections.
He is praying for guidance, considering that it will be a “big decision” for him, Hinlo said. | GB
