President Rodrigo Duterte has called on his patymates in Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to remain united, set aside personal interest and focus on the welfare of the Filipinos amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Duterte's recorded message was played during the PDP-Laban National Council Assembly held in Cebu province on Monday.

The national assembly called by party vice chair, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, with the go signal of Duterte, pushed through despite the opposition of Senator Manny Pacquiao, PDP-Laban's acting president.

"Over the years the PDP-Laban has revolutionized our country's political landscape by pursuing genuine reforms and good governance in both the national and local levels. I, thus, urge all of my partymates for staying true to the party's mission which has always been to prioritize the welfare of our people," Duterte said.

As the government and the Filipinos continue to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, he urged his partymates to continue to work in pursuing for the initiatives that will strengthen the gains in good governance especially those which will foster lasting peace and progress for the country.

"Again, I call to all of my partymates to stand together and remain united not by personal interest but by our principles and values as we chart the future of our party and the rest of the nation," Duterte said.

Paquiao's camp has said that only Duterte in coordination with the senator, who is the party president, could call for the PDP-Laban's national assembly.

Pacquio, the legendary boxing champ, is said to be running for president in the 2022 elections.

He may be competing with presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, a leader of another regional political party.

Meanwhile, while the Department of Energy was holding a virtual press briefing about the warning of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines of rotational brownout in Luzon due to insufficient supply of energy, Cusi was presiding over the PDP-Laban's national assembly in Cebu.

It was his spokesman, Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, and other DOE officials who were explaining the power situation and answering the media's questions. Celerina Monte/DMS