Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice President Leni Robredo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is worried that the lack of unity between Vice President Leni Robredo and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is conducive to the resurgence of the Marcoses and President Duterte’s allies.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart on Tuesday, Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice implied Robredo is to blame if Bongbong Marcos wins and returns to Malacañang because she had previously admitted running for president might split the opposition vote.
Erice hopes he is wrong, and that either Robredo or Isko will defeat Bongbong, the son of the late dictator and former president Ferdinand Marcos.
“I hate to say this, pero kung makakabalik ang mga Marcos, kung makakabalik, kung magpapatuloy ang Duterte (it’s her fault). Sana mali ako, sana manalo si Vice President Leni. Sana manalo si Mayor Isko. Pero si Vice President Leni na mismo ang nagsabi — baka makabawas ako,” he said.
(I hate to say this, but if the Marcoses return, it’s her fault if the Duterte style of governance continues. I hope I am wrong. I hope Vice President Leni wins. I hope Mayor Isko wins. But the Vice President herself said it — I may split the vote.)
“I think so, kasi alam niya’ yon, sinabi niya ‘yon (I think so because she knows that she’ll split the votes, she said it),” he added, after being asked if he thinks Robredo is at fault if the Marcoses make a return.
To counter that, Erice said both candidates must still be open to a unity slate after they have both filed their certificates of candidacy.
In his view, this method gives the opposition a greater chance of defeating Marcos and Duterte’s anointed candidate – which also happened to be one of Robredo’s primary considerations before running for president.
“Eyes on the ball, ang problema, Marcos, Duterte. Ang posibilidad, nakikita ko sa survey, kung magsasama si Vice President Leni at si Isko, malaki ang posibilidad na matalo itong sila Marcos at sila Duterte […] kung talagang ito ‘yong problema natin, gusto nating mabago ‘yong bansa natin, dapat open si Mayor Isko, dapat open si VP na magsama sila,” he said.
(Eyes on the ball, the problems are Marcos, Duterte. The possibility, we saw in the surveys, if Vice President Leni and Isko join forces, there is a big possibility that they would defeat Marcos and Duterte. If that is really our problem, if we want to change our country, both should be open to a unity slate.)
“Dapat si VP Leni at si Mayor Isko, willing na magsakripisyo (Both VP Leni and Mayor Isko must be willing to sacrifice),” he added.
Pressed why he thinks that way, Erice said that they did a study which showed that should Robredo back out from the presidential race, 90 percent of people who would have voted for her would pick Moreno instead.
In contrast, if Moreno withdrew his candidacy, the local executive’s voters would jump to Marcos.
“I know for a fact that if Isko will back out, most of his votes will go to Bongbong and Sara,” Erice explained. “According to the last survey, at least 90 percent will go to Isko, before this brouhaha, before this away-away na ito.”
“So actually do’n sa study namin, sa dami ng supporters ni President Duterte, lumalabas talaga na 29 percent ng population natin dislikes Vice President Leni. Unlike Isko, mga six percent lamang,” he added.
(So actually, in our study, with the massive amount of supporters of President Duterte, it appears that 29 percent of the population really dislikes Vice President Leni. Unlike Isko, only six percent dislike him.)
Erice is now with Aksyon Demokratiko, which backs the candidacy of Moreno. In the same interview, Erice questioned Robredo’s capacity, saying that part of the reason he left the Liberal Party (LP) was its lack of action and ongoing decline into irrelevance.
He attributed LP’s woes to a leadership problem with Robredo, who is currently party chair.
READ: Proud dilawan no more: Why Erice left LP and why Robredo isn’t the right leader
READ: Erice: Robredo’s unity talks failed because she’s mulling presidential bid, too
But Erice was rebuffed by one of his former colleagues in LP, former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, who said that some people really just seek the leadership of a traditional politician.
READ: Baguilat disputes Erice: Some really seek leadership with machinery, ambition
Erice said that the problem is not really with the whole LP, but with some purists who seem to think that they have the monopoly of love for the country.
“Ang nangyayari kasi, ‘pagka iba sa kaisipan ng iba naming mga kasama, ‘yong mga purist ha, marami naman sa Liberal Party mga practical pero ‘yong mga purist akala nila sila ‘yong may exclusive franchise pano magmahal ng bayan, sino dapat ‘yong maging presidente, ano dapat ang mga paraan,” Erice claimed.
(What happens is that if your line of thinking is different with other LP members, I mean the purists because a lot of people in LP are practical, but the purists think that they have the exclusive franchise on how to love the country, on who should be president, on what method should be adopted.)