"We are left in the dark. Until now, we do not know our status with the party."
This was the reply of Negros Occidental Second District Board Member Salvador Escalante Jr. when asked if they will attend in the national convention of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas Ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on August 31, which was revealed by Davao Representative Karlo Nograles.
Escalante said that up to this time, they do not know what their status with the party is and if indeed, their applications for membership were approved by the administration party.
In 2016, after President Rodrigo Duterte won the election, Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Third District Representative Alfredo Benitez, along with more than 200 officials, took their oath with PDP-Laban.
In 2017, about 12,000 officials, including 15 mayors and community leaders, were sworn in as members of Duterte’s party.
"We took our oath with the party and we signed our papers but until now we are left in the dark. Even Governor Marañon has also the same status with the party, like us,” Escalante said.
He said that they are just sticking to their local group, which is the United Negros Alliance (Unega).
When asked about the PDP-Laban national convention, Yves Akol, the party's secretary-general in Negros, said he was also informally informed about it.
He said he is still waiting for the official statement from the party.
"President Duterte will attend the national convention and he will talk to us. We would know some developments during the convention," Akol said, adding he may attend the convention if he will receive the invitation.
Escalante also said they have not yet received any invitation from PDP-Laban about the convention.
On the part of Benitez, who is also a member of PDP-Laban, he has not confirmed attendance to the convention yet.
Benitez, who was included in the senatorial line-up of PDP-Laban for 2019, has yet to bare his political plans in the upcoming elections.