BY THE MANILA TIMES ON OCTOBER 7, 2017

THE ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has identified six of the 12 candidates for its senatorial slate in the 2019 mid-term elections.

The PDP-Laban senatorial line up will be, so far, composed of Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Representatives Alfredo Benitez, Karlo Nograles and Geraldine Roman; and former Metro Manila Development Authority chief Francis Tolentino.

“I will limit it to those who are already party members as of today. We will try our best to come up with a complete 12-person slate,” Pimentel told reporters in a Viber message. “If we cannot come up with 12 then we are open to entering into coalition agreements with other parties. If incumbent re-electionist senators join the party then they will enjoy priority in inclusion in the slate,” he said.

Pimentel said the ruling party was aiming to sweep the senatorial elections.

“I plan to ask [House] Speaker [Pantaleon] Alvarez to be the national campaign manager for the senatorial slate under the battlecry ‘12-0.’ This is a ‘developing/evolving’ matter, hence not final, not official. [It’s] just my personal preference,” he said.

The re-electionist senators belonging to other political parties but allied with President Rodrigo Duterte are Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino), Nancy Binay (United Nationalist Alliance), Joseph Victor Ejercito (Pwersa ng Masa), Grace Poe (Partido Galing at Puso) and Cynthia Villar (Nacionalista Party).

“SP (Senate President) Koko is convincing me to transfer to PDP. I’ll be going with them in their activities as guest and observer of the party. I might join them next year,” Ejercito said when asked if he was considering joining the PDP-Laban.

Asked whether he was open to running under the PDP-Laban banner in 2019, Ejercito said: “Since I am with the majority that is a possibility. That is if I will still run (for the Senate in 2019).