MANILA, Philippines – Former senator Lito Lapid rejected on Wednesday any possible presidential bid in the future.
“Ay wala po. Wala,” Lapid said in an interview in Quezon City when asked if he has plans of running for president.
(I have no plans.)
“Kaya wala akong kalaban na senador at hindi ako pinag iinitan e kasi hindi ako banta sa kanila.”
(That is why no one is picking on me in the Senate, I am not a threat.)
“Hindi ako threat sa kanila. Alam naman nila ang kakayahan ko. Hanggang dito lang po ako,” Lapid stressed.
(I am not a threat to them. They know my capabilities. I will stay in the Senate.)
Lapid seeking a Senate seat anew in the May 2019 elections under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).
Aside from the former senator, the second NPC member running for another term in the Senate is incumbent Senator JV Ejercito.
NPC is also backing the candidacy of Senator Grace Poe, who has been the frontrunner in pre-election surveys.
Lapid was governor of Pampanga before he was elected to Senate in 2004.
After his first six-year term in the Senate, he was again elected for another term in 2010. / gsg
READ: Lapid shuns debate with rivals: Di ako nakikipag contest sa pagalingan