MANILA, Philippines — Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez warned on Tuesday about electing a wealthy businessman as president.
The Davao del Norte congressman made this warning as he denied that his party, Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma, is considering fielding a businessman as its standard bearer in the 2022 elections.
“No. That is not true. Kung sino man siya talaga, hindi (whoever he is, no),” Alvarez said over ABS-CBN News Channel.
“Let me be frank and honest about this. Para sa akin kapag malaking negosyante ka na, siguro tama na. Mahirap kapag naglagay tayo ng pangulo na malaki ang business interest sa ating bansa. Baka mamaya ‘yung buong Pilipinas eh negosyo na niya. That is very dangerous. I do not personally subscribe sa idea na ‘yun,” he added.
(Let me be frank and honest about this. For me, if you are a wealthy businessman, just stop there. It will be difficult if we will have a president who has a huge business interest in the country. He may end up using the country for his business. That is very dangerous. I do not personally subscribe to that idea.)
According to Alvarez, Reporma will focus on the presidential elections but said the party does not yet have any candidate in mind to support for the upcoming polls.
In November last year, Alvarez tendered his irrevocable resignation from the ruling PDP-Laban party and accepted the offer of former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa to chair and revive Reporma, a non-mainstream party not affiliated with any personality reportedly seeking the presidency.
Alvarez became speaker of the House of Representatives when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016, but was booted out in 2018 and replaced by then Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In December last year, political campaign consultancy firm BluePrint.PH released a study showing that San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang, and Manny Villar, who also previously participated in the national elections, are some of the big names Filipinos are eyeing for president in 2022.