Image: Instagram/@mannypacquiao
MANILA, Philippines — A large volunteer group that used to support Senator Manny Pacquiao – thus the name MP Nation – has already shifted alliances and now backing Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s bid to become president of the country via the May 2022 elections.
Moreno’s campaign team confirmed in a statement that MP Nation, which has since changed its name to IM4P or Isko Moreno for President Movement, has already decided to pick the city mayor as its presidential candidate.
According to Moreno’s team, group lead convener Dani Enriquez’s reason for leaving Pacquiao’s camp was the infighting within PDP-Laban, which they believe has affected the senator’s candidacy for president.
Enriquez was quoted in a statement released by Moreno’s camp that he wanted Pacquiao and Moreno to run under one ticket in the 2022 polls.
“We will always love and thank Senator Pacquiao for what he has done for the country and would have wanted the two of them (Moreno and Pacquiao) to be in one ticket. But we must admit that the infighting of PDP-Laban has caused much damage and backlog to Senator Manny’s campaign,” Enriquez said in the statement issued by Moreno’s camp.
But Pacquiao’s camp asserted they are relieved that Enriquez’s group has already severed ties with them. The senator’s camp even alleged that Enriquez engaged in a money-making scheme using Pacquiao’s campaign.
According to Buddy Zamora, the senator’s campaign manager, Pacquiao would not hesitate to kick people out of his team — like long-time buddy Jayke Joson — if they would be proven crooked.
“We are relieved that Mr. Dani Enriquez has made this announcement that he and his group are no longer connected with the camp of Senator Manny Pacquiao. Mr. Enriquez is an impostor who tried to wiggle himself into Senator Manny Pacquiao’s campaign team for money-making schemes but was immediately exposed and cut off upon discovery of his real motive,” Zamora said.
“Mr. Enrquez is bad news so we are glad that he has officially and formally informed the public that Senator Pacquiao and his camp are no longer connected with him. This only shows that Senator Pacquiao does not condone or tolerate shenanigans and misfits in his team,” he added.
According to Zamora, Enriquez has been long banned from joining Pacquiao’s camp – even before he made his switch to Moreno.
“Before this so-called switch of Mr. Enriquez and his group to the camp of Mayor Isko Moreno, he was already blocked from conducting businesses related to Senator Manny Pacquiao’s presidential campaign,” Zamora said.
“In the last meeting that he attended, he was severely castigated for his scheming ways and was ordered to stop representing the Senator,” he added.
Aside from this, Zamora said Enriquez misrepresented himself as a Philippine Air Force colonel and controlled pandemic supply donations from Pacquiao.
“These actions of Mr. Enriquez raised the red flag and had turned off Senator Pacquiao. He was soon cut off from Team Pacquiao and this apparently prompted him to join the camp of Mayor Isko Moreno. We wish him luck as part of Mayor Isko’s team and good riddance,” Zamora said.
But in a text message to INQUIRER.net, Enriquez belied Zamora’s statements and even said he has already warned Pacquiao’s camp that the statements they released are libelous.
According to Enriquez, he was a commissioned Air Force officer, and that the pandemic supplies were given to government agencies.
“I never used Sen Manny’s name for fundraising. All prospective donors, I brought directly to Sen. Manny. And I have Sen. Manny as witness to that. I may have not completed my training as pilot in PAFFS Flying school. But I was commissioned and was in the active duty as PAF Lt. Col. in 1998 […] I can show you my orders from PAFHQ,” Enriquez said.
“Our HQ is a volunteer activity. Though I was asking for assistance, they never contributed a single cent to our operations. Our group contributed to all our expenses. So what’s the big fuss?” he added.
The group led by Enriquez supposedly consists of coordinators in 78 provinces, 120 cities, 1,109 municipalities, and more than 35,000 barangays across the country.