FILE PHOTO: Bayan Muna chairperson and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares. SENATE FILE
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Bong Go’s move to withdraw from the presidential race is a “desperate Machiavellian attempt” to salvage the “crumbling” Duterte-Marcos alliance, senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares said Tuesday.
Colmenares made the remark after Go announced he is quitting his presidential bid, saying he does not want President Rodrigo Duterte trapped in the middle ahead of the 2022 national elections.
“The withdrawal of Sen. Bong Go from the presidential race is just a desperate Machiavellian attempt to salvage the crumbling Duterte-Marcos alliance,” Colmenares said in a statement.
“It was clear from the start that he had very little chance to win and that the President was just using him as leverage to get as many concessions as possible from Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” he added.
Colmenares said that Duterte has groomed Go “to be his shield from criminal prosecution after his term.”
“Even if Duterte does not admit it, he is afraid of the International Criminal Court and the reality that he could become the first Asian to be convicted and jailed for Crimes against Humanity,” Colmenares said.
“But with Duterte’s daughter already hitching up with Marcos for 2022, Go was reduced to a bargaining chip for his boss,” he added.
Further, the senatorial candidate claimed that those who align themselves with Duterte will also be “left in the air and pulled down.”
“Ganito ang mangyayari sa mga sumasanib sa mga Duterte para sa kanilang agenda. Walang forever sa poder. Gagamitin lang kayo, iiwanan sa ere, tapos mahahatak pababa,” Colmenares said.
(This is what will happen to those who align with Duterte. Not everyone will be on their side forever. You will be used, left in the air, and pulled down.)
In announcing his withdrawal, Go said that his heart and mind have been contradicting his actions. He added that his family is also against his move to vie for the presidency.
Go was running under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) party, along with Duterte, who decided to seek a Senate seat.
INQUIRER.net has sought the comment of Go for this story but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.