PDP-Laban is reorganizing itself in preparation for the 2013 elections and Vice President-elect Jejomar C. Binay is supporting the move, lawyer Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel said Friday.

Pimentel told journalists at the Friday Balitaan sa Rembrandt that Binay has asked him to initiate a revitalization campaign nationwide in preparation for the bigger political battles in 2013 and 2016.

He said that as the party secretary-general, he will be in charge of forming chapters in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Pimentel said PDP-Laban is the only political party in the country that has its own ideology, stressing that members have to abide by the philosophy, mission and vision of the party before they can become bona fide members.

He announced that all those who affiliated with other parties can now return to the fold, adding that he foresees an expansion of membership that can grow bigger than what the party had in 1986.

Pimentel said the impulse for the revitalization of PDP-Laban came after Binay trounced Senator Mar Roxas in the May 10 elections.

“It is the pride of the party that it produced the second highest official in the land,” he said.

On the matter of his protest against Sen. Miguel Zubiri filed before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), Pimentel said the matter is now up for decision since he and his opponent had filed their memoranda last May 17.

In the same forum, former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad said he found it strange for Roxas to head the transition team of President-elect Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

This team is about the new government and only those elected can genuinely lead such a group, Tatad said.

He said it is but proper that Aquino give Binay a big role in his government since the latter is the incoming Vice President.

Pimentel said those who do not wish the incoming leadership well should stop spreading rumors and driving a wedge between Binay and Aquino.

“The Liberal Party (LP) and PDP-Laban had been close since 1992, when my father, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Senate President Jovito Salonga ran as a team,” he said.

Tatad noted that it is in the best interest of Aquino to work with Binay since he is still a minority President as he earned only 41 percent of the vote.

“He needs the millions of supporters of Vice President Binay to expand his political support and consolidate his political base,” he said.

For one, Tatad said, Binay has had a very long experience as a local chief executive and has been strong in administering an autonomous local government unit (LGU).

This alone entitles him to some degree of respect by the Aquino camp, he said.