FILE Sen. Panfilo Lacson
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson bared Tuesday that he will only either run for president in the 2022 national elections or retire from politics, adding that another senatorial run for him is out of the picture.
“It’s between gunning for presidency or retirement, ang iniisip ko. Yung pagbalik sa Senado, kasi naka-tatlong terms na rin ako, sa tingin ko sa legislative work parang — I can say, and this is me talking to myself — I would say ‘I’ve done my part, pagdating doon,'” Lacson told reporters in an interview
Nonetheless, Lacson said a possible presidential run for him in next year’s elections remains “tentative” even with some encouragement from Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
Sotto earlier said he will “definitely” run for the vice presidential post if Lacson goes for the president’s seat.
Lacson said Sotto and him had a conversation early this year where the Senate president urged him to run for president.
“Ganun ang aming naging usapan at nandun pa rin kami sa ganung situation. Siya mas determined, ako very tentative,” Lacsons said in an interview with reporters.
“Ang talagang nagho-hold back sakin yung situation, present situation sa ating bansa. Napakaraming problema. Ang una dapat tanungin nung mga nagpaplanong tumakbo, kaya bang i-solve yung mga problema? Yun ang unang consideration. Madali lang magfile ng certificate of candidacy. Yun ang pinakamadaling gawin, mag-embark doon sa political journey na gustong tahakin. Ang mas mahirap na parte yung isipin mo yung responsibilidad na iaatang sa balikat mo at kung kaya mo ba,” he added.
Currently, Lacson said he, together with Sotto, is in the process of consultations with experts —including Cabinet members of previous administrations —for possible ways to address the problems of the country, particularly the coronavirus pandemic.
From here, Lacson said they will see if they are capable of addressing the issues hounding the country.
“‘Yun nga ang inaaral sa pamamagitan ng pagkonsulta kasi may mga kinakausap kami mga former Cabinet officials o high-ranking officials or high-ranking officials ng mga past administrations na alam naming competent enough para i-guide kami o tulungan kami na mag-crack ng ulo namin kung paano ire-resolba. Kung sakaling finally magdecide na mag embark doon sa political journey na yun, at least finally alam naming preparado kami,” Lacson said.
“Pero yung mga information na pumapasok ay hindi pa sapat para masabi namin confidently, we can address those problems,” he added.