PDP Laban inks ‘historic’ deal with Putin’s United Russia Party

Senate President and PDL Laban President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia’s ruling party in St. Petersburg. (Photo Release/Koko Pimentel website)

President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP Laban has entered into an agreement with the United Russia Party which counts Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of its leaders.

Senate President and PDL Laban President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia’s ruling party in St. Petersburg.

“This is a historic moment, as it brings Russia and the Philippines closer together through relations between their ruling parties, and not just their governments,” Pimentel said in a statement.

Pimentel is in St. Petersburg for the 137th International Parliamentary Union Assembly with President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto and Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

The agreement between the two parties is the second memorandum with a foreign political party for PDP Laban.

On February, PDP Laban signed an agreement with the Communist Party of China.

“PDP Laban is unique among political parties in the Philippines not just for its active grassroots presence and ideological discipline, but also for its efforts to boost diplomatic ties through relations with ruling parties of other countries,” Pimentel added.

Duterte, Party Chairman of PDP Laban, has rekindled relations with Russia and China as part of his administration’s independent foreign policy.

Pimentel also said that PDP Laban is determined in building diplomatic ties with political parties in other countries that “share its commitment to Change for the welfare of the people”.

“We want to share our experiences with parties from other countries, and we want to learn from their experiences as well. The Change we push is not change for the sake of change, but rather, it is aimed at eradicating age-old problems and must therefore be sustainable,” Pimentel added.