- The boxing senator echoed the same sentiment on Twitter: “We need progress. We need to win against poverty. We need government to serve our people with integrity, compassion and transparency. The time is now. I am ready to rise to the challenge of leadership.”
- Pacquiao was ousted as the PDP-Laban Party’s president weeks after going up against President Rodrigo Duterte over his position on the West Philippines Sea issue with China in July, Rappler reported.
- Once an ally of Duterte, the senator launched an anti-corruption investigation against the current government’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic aid.
- PDP-Laban nominated Senator Bong Go as president and Duterte as vice president at a national assembly on July 8. Secretary-General Melvin Matibag said Go and Duterte are the only candidates the party considered legitimate to run in the 2022 election.
- “Since he has other parties, maybe he can just use those because here in PDP-Laban, he does not have the support of the majority,” Matibag said of Pacquiao’s candidacy.
- The Cusi-led faction asked the Commission of Election (COMELEC) for a temporary restraining order to stop Pacquiao and his political allies from committing acts that would “run against the constitution of PDP-Laban and usurp the authority of the legitimate officials of the ruling party.”
- The bills Pacquiao passed include the Handbook for OFWs Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11227), Free Internet Access Program Read (RA No. 10929) and An Act Increasing the Monthly Old-Age Pension of Senior Veterans (RA No. 11164).