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Robin Padilla joins PDP-Laban faction, will run for senator in 2022 polls

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- (UPDATE) Actor Robin Padilla has joined a faction of the PDP-Laban backed by President Rodrigo Duterte to run for senator, the group revealed on Tuesday, 3 days before the filing of candidacies for the 2022 elections closed.</p><p>Padilla and his brother Rommel took their oaths as PDP-Laban members before Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, as seen in photos released by the faction he leads.</p><p>Melvin Matibag, secretary general of the Cusi wing, confirmed in a statement that Robin will be running for the Senate under their ticket, while Rommel will seek another bid as representative of Nueva Ecija&#x27;s first district.</p><p>Rommel in 2007 won as board member of Nueva Ecija.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Actor Robin Padilla, his brother Rommel take oath as members of PDP-Laban, according to a party faction backed by President Duterte.<br/><br/>It is not immediately clear if the Padilla brothers are running in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Halalan2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Halalan2022</a>.<br/>📸Melvin Matibag, SecGen of PDP-Laban Cusi wing | <a href="https://twitter.com/jmnpunzalan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jmnpunzalan</a> <a href="https://t.co/DwgLHbqOv2">pic.twitter.com/DwgLHbqOv2</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1445321905154654217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Matibag earlier said the action star was included in the initial list of PDP-Laban&#x27;s potential senatorial candidates, but noted that he was not sure if Padilla made the final cut.</p><p>&quot;Ang tinitingnan natin dito winnability. Siyempre tinitingnan din natin dito track record at relationship sa pangulo,&quot; Matibag said, when he bared an initial list of potential Senate contenders in August. </p><p>(What we are looking at here is winnability. Of course, we are also looking at track record and relationship with the President.) </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/17/21/pdp-laban-eyes-5-cabinet-men-allies-for-senate-race">PDP-Laban eyes 6 Cabinet members, other personalities for 2022 senatorial slate</a></li></ul><p>Padilla is a staunch supporter of Duterte, who granted him executive clemency in 2016. The actor was convicted of illegal possession of firearms in 1994. He was released after being granted conditional pardon by former President Fidel Ramos 3 years later.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/16/16/watch-duterte-justifies-absolute-pardon-for-robin-padilla">WATCH: Duterte justifies absolute pardon for Robin Padilla</a></li></ul><p>The Commission on Elections has yet to rule on whether the Cusi faction or the rival group led by Sen. Manny Pacquiao is the legitimate representative of PDP-Laban. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1778285" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Actor Robin Padilla has joined a faction of the PDP-Laban backed by President Rodrigo Duterte. 