MANILA, Philippines — While Senator Panfilo Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III will not criticize other possible candidates in the 2022 national elections, they would respect the sentiments aired by party members on the activities of their rivals.
According to Lacson, both he and Sotto maintain their stand that they would not be speaking about the “missteps” of other candidates. Lacson made the remark after he was asked during the Meet the Press forum on Thursday about his comment on the caravan held by former senator Bongbong Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Like Lacson and Sotto, Marcos and Duterte-Carpio are also running for president and vice president, respectively, in the upcoming polls.
“Kami ni Senate President, we always maintain our position not to criticize kung ano man ‘yong missteps na na-commit ng ibang tandems,” Lacson told reporters.
But he also clarified that members of parties affiliated with their tandem need not follow — like former LPGMA party-list Rep. Arnel Ty who criticized the Marcos-Duterte caravan that caused a monstrous traffic jam on Commonwealth Avenue on Wednesday.
Ty is currently the treasurer of Partido Reporma, the party to where Lacson belongs to.
“Now ‘yong aming treasurer, si Congressman Arnel Ty ng Partido Reporma, naglabas siya ng isang kalatas na sinasabi do’n, inii-slam niya ‘yong nangyari kahapon. Siguro dahil ‘yong mga miyembro nila tinamaan dahil sa matinding traffic,” Lacson explained.
“So while we do not criticize kung ano man ‘yong pagkakamali o — rightly or wrongly no, pagkakamali ng ibang tandem, kami ni Senate President will always stick to our position, that we will never criticize […] however, kami rin, nirerespeto rin namin ‘yong mga individual, ‘yong mga personal opinion, na mas que sinong tao, whether or not member sila ng aming political parties,” he added.
Lacson thinks that Sotto would also do the same if a member of the party that he belongs to, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), will be doing the same.
“Kung manggaling ‘yong kritisismo galing sa isang miyembro o opisyal ng [NPC], palagay ko naman si Senate President hindi niya rin naman pipigilin din ‘yon kasi maaaring iba ‘yong perspective, iba ‘yong pinanggagalingan kasi baka naka-experience ng personal ng paghihirap kahapon,” he added.
On Wednesday morning — a non-working holiday — Marcos and Duterte-Carpio staged a caravan in Quezon City. Huge crowds gathered to welcome the two aspirants and left big portions of Commonwealth Avenue blocked.
Ty said in a statement that there were working-class citizens who woke up expecting better traffic conditions due to the holiday but ended up being troubled by the heavy traffic flow in the said area.
“Partido Reporma laments that in the time of pandemic, there are politicians who still subscribe to that kind of politics where common decency and basic social conventions are being swept under the rug for political expediency,” Ty said.
“We are hoping that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Comelec (Commission on Election) would seriously take a look at this issue, as Partido Reporma has been doing its best to play fair this election season with the utmost respect to the sentiments and safety of our countrymen,” he added.
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In a statement, the Quezon City government said the organizers of the caravan did not coordinate with city officials.
The Marcos camp issued an apology for the incident.
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