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President Rodrigo Duterte's presence in the recent national assembly and election of officers of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan did not legitimize the exercise as it violated the party's constitution, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III on Sunday said.

Duterte, chairman of PDP-Laban, attended the gathering of PDP-Laban led by the faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Saturday in Clark, Pampanga.

"It was not mentioned in the party constitution that the presence of the national chairman legitimizes everything," Pimentel, whose father, late Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., founded the party, said in a radio interview.

"What is important is that the agenda is coordinated with the party president (and) that is what is written in the party constitution," he added.

Senator Manny Pacquiao, who is currently undergoing boxing training for his match next month in the United States, is the acting president of the PDP-Laban.

Pimentel said the PDP-Laban national headquarters does not honor the national assembly conducted by Cusi's faction as the Energy chief has already been expelled from the party.

On Saturday, Cusi was nominated as the party's new president. His group does not also recognize his expulsion from the party, saying it did not undergo the party process.

Pimentel accused Cusi of initiating the ruckus as he wanted to replace Pacquiao as the party president.

He also said that he has yet to discuss the matter with Pacquiao, whom he considered as still the president of PDP-Laban.

"Our stand is all these (meetings were) unauthorized and should not affect the current PDP-Laban structure," he said.

Pimentel said they will also conduct a national assembly in September where they will decide who will be their party candidates for next year's elections.

He added that a possible election of officers can happen if there will be clamor among the members.

"If we need to reorganize, we will also reorganize," he said.

Pimentel, who authored the party constitution, admitted that he did not anticipate their current situation.

Pimentel hoped that they could resolve what he called as internal problem before the filing of certificates of candidacy in October.

In case both factions will have nominees, he said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will need to step in.

"It is saddening...the reputation of the party is suffering," Pimentel said. Ella Dionisio/DMS