THE Commission on Elections is eyeing to finally resolve the leadership dispute of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) within the week.
Comelec Commissioner George M. Garcia said they want to resolve the matter before they finalize the list of Dominant Majority Party and the Dominant Minority Party as well as the 10 Major National Parties, and the two Major Local Parties on Friday.
“Hopefully, this issue regarding the two factions will be resolved before we come out with the resolution on the dominant majority and minority parties,” Garcia told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.
However, he stressed that it is possible for the Comelec en banc to come out with the list for dominant and minority parties even if the PDP-Laban case is still unresolved.
The poll official noted that the PDP-Laban case is currently pending in the Comelec Second Division, which is presided over by Comelec Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo.
Its members include Garcia and Comelec CommissionerRey E. Bulay.
PDP-Laban currently has two opposing factions led by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi and Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao, respectively.
Both factions claim they are the official PDP-Laban party.
Garcia said it is up to the Comelec en banc to decide if the PDP-Laban factions will have a joint or a separate classification in terms of being a major or a minority party.
“The discretion now belongs to the Comelec whether we should just come up with a just determination of that particular party as a whole or a determination of just a faction,” Garcia said.
Parties classified as dominant or major will be given priority in Comelec’s distribution of election returns and certificates of canvass.