One of the most prominent member of the Philippine Senate and leader of the PDP-Laban, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Thursday that his group is willing to wait until December 2015 for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his decision about running for President in the highly anticipated 2016 national elections.
Sen. Pimentel clarified that the October 16 deadline for the filing certificates of candidates was just an “initial” deadline as the substitution of candidates until December is allowed under the rules of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
In an interview with reporters, Senator Koko Pimentel was quoted as saying “We will never give up until October 16, 2015,” he told reporters.
Sen. Pimentel added further that “And actually ito lang ang gusto kong sabihin sa inyo (this is what I want to tell you), October 16 actually is not the final deadline because the rules of the Comelec allow the substitution by a political party of the candidates up to sometime in December. Kinaklaro ko po yun (I am clarifying) that there’s an initial deadline but that’s not actually the absolute deadline to decide,” said the senator.
When Sen. Pimentel was asked then if his group would not endorse other presidential bets until December, Sen. Pimentel said that’s the risk they are willing to take.
The tough-talking mayor of Davao City Mayor Duterte himself announced last Tuesday that he will not run for president next year. But Sen. Pimentel said that Duterte’s pronouncements would not stop his supporters from pursuing him.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III was quoted as saying “We will continue to convince him, to plead with him na (to) please listen to the (clamor of the people). I can feel the clamor of a big segment of society for him to run for president so I will just beg him to listen to that clamor,” the senator added
