COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo’s camp has not officially sent out emissaries to mediate with other presidential candidates for a possible unification scenario, her spokesperson clarified.
Lawyer Barry Gutierrez said this in a statement on Wednesday, after Senator Panfilo Lacson who is also seeking the presidency in the 2022 national elections claimed that the Robredo camp has fielded a mediator to send feelers about possibly uniting against another presidential bet.
“The campaign has not officially sent any ‘emissaries’ to other candidates,” Gutierrez said.
However, he also noted that “several groups and individuals” are keen on seeing a united slate for the opposition — just as Robredo envisioned it before the filing of certificates of candidacy last October 2021.
Gutierrez said Robredo remains open to possible talks about a unity slate.
“There have been several groups and individuals that have been working towards some form of unification, and the VP has always maintained that she remains open to these conversations,” he added.
Lacson said last Monday that a mediator has been deployed from Robredo’s side to talk about uniting against former senator Bongbong Marcos, who is, so far, the overwhelming favorite in recent surveys.
Robredo is second behind Marcos, but the gap between their ratings are wide; Marcos got 60 percent of the votes according to Pulse Asia, if elections were held from February 18 to 23. The Vice President, on the other hand, only got 15 percent.
However, Lacson was adamant that he and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, will not back down from their respective bids.
READ: Lacson claims ‘mediator’ from Robredo camp sent ‘feelers’ to unite vs Marcos
Lacson did not mention any individual behind the supposed ‘feelers’.
However, this is not the first time that a possible united slate was brought up again, after failed talks between the two camps: on Monday also, fellow Senator Franklin Drilon said that if Robredo’s numbers start rising, other candidates may have to start thinking about giving way and having one candidate to fight the administration.
“This brings me to the point, if indeed it is confirmed that the numbers of Vice President Leni have substantially increased as indicated in the rallies, then maybe it’s about time that the three other presidential candidates should start thinking and think in terms of unifying and having only one candidate to fight the administration candidate,” Drilon said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
READ: Drilon: If Robredo’s rising numbers confirmed, other candidates should think of unification
“With all due respect, the other candidates should now start examining where they are if they have not even gotten to double figures. Kung mas mababa pa sa 10 percent, there’s no sense,” he added.
Drilon was also key in the pre-campaign meetings between Robredo and Lacson. However, the Minority Floor Leader was accused of trying to set-up a Robredo-Sotto tandem by pointing his fingers to the two officials — something that Lacson said he felt insulted about.
Drilon on the other hand stressed that if he really wanted to set Lacson aside, they could have just met with Sotto alone.
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