‘Now is not the time for politics:’ Pacquiao tells PDP-Laban party mates

MANILA, Philippines — Now is not the time for politics, PDP-Laban president Senator Manny Pacquiao told his party mates in the ruling party following a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to run for the vice presidency in the 2022 polls.

“May naririnig kami na mga balita na may mga iilan na umiikot at pinaguusapan na ang politika, so ako nananawagan bilang acting president ng partido nananawagan sa lahat na ‘wag munang politika,” Pacquiao said during a press briefing Friday.

(We are hearing reports that there are members who are going around and discussing politics, so as acting president, I am calling on all members that let’s not talk about politics now.)

This, after a House lawmaker, disclosed that a resolution urging Duterte to run as vice president is being passed among members of the party.

Aside from holding Friday’s press conference, Pacquiao also sent letters to all members of the party issuing a similar call.

“We are now faced with a magnitude so great that it has affected not only our lives and the lives of our loved ones but also the lives of our entire nation. It has put our economy to its heels and has forced our countrymen to joblessness and poverty,” his letter read.

“I, therefore, call upon all our party members to focus more on the opportunity to serve. Our countrymen need us now more than ever. There will be time for politics, but for now, the lives and wellbeing of our countrymen should be our utmost priority,” he added.

Pacquiao also said the resolution urging Duterte to run for the vice presidency was “not authorized.”

“I have the responsibility to enforce the rules, promote cooperation, insist on civility and respect, and most of all, to remind you that we are one team because it is only when we are united that we can stand strong to weather any storm and to face the greatest dangers,” the senator’s letter further read.

/MUF