The council also adopted Cusi’s proposal to nominate President Rodrigo Duterte, who chairs the party, as chairman of the said council.Pimentel is the executive vice chairman of the party and is identified with the group of Senator Manny Pacquiao, who has been at odds with Cusi’s group.
While Cusi moved for the “inclusion of the party president,” he did not specifically name Pacquiao in his proposed “council of elders” members. Pacquiao currently serves as the party’s president. But an election for national officers slated during the national assembly on Saturday, July 17, may result in the senator’s removal as president.
Both Pacquiao and Pimentel did not participate in Friday’s meeting and will also not attend the national assembly on Saturday, which both senators Two of Duterte’s Cabinet secretaries are also included in the “council of elders,” namely Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Budget chief Wendel Avisado.Lawyer Rogelio “Bicbic” Garcia was also approved as a council member as proposed by Cusi.