FORMER President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap on Wednesday joined the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) coalition in the House of Representatives.

SHE’S IN Former President Gloria Arroyo takes her oath as PDP-Laban member before Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas.

“My joining the PDP-Laban is to consolidate support for the President. It is a matter of course as we have been talking about this for quite some time,” said Arroyo, who was formerly of the Lakas-CMD coalition.

“We just wanted to support the President by joining his party,” Yap said in a text message to The Manila Times.

The PDP-Laban earlier said it will stop accepting new members by the end of this month.

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“PDP Laban is a party for those who believe in its principles, whether it is in power or not. We are not a party of political convenience,” Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, president of PDP-Laban.

“By stopping recruitment, we will have time to indoctrinate and train our members, screen possible candidates, and absorb our new members into our grassroots infrastructure,” Pimentel added.