MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao on Thursday warned of another possible martial law era should the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., be elected as president.
“Hindi malayo magkaron ng martial law kapag si Bongbong ang [manalo] at ‘yan ay pagsisihan ng taumbayan,” he said told reporters in a campaign sortie in Iloilo City.
(It’s not unlikely that the country would be under martial law if Bongbong wins and the nation would regret it.)
Pacquiao speculated that the Marcos family wants to regain the power to do whatever they want to do — including skirting from paying what is due to the government like the P203 billion estate tax — and that is why they are vying to reclaim Malacañang.
“Gustong gusto nila makabalik [sa Malacañang]. Bakit? Unang-una, abswelto sila sa ano nila sa gobyerno, sa taxes. Pangalawa, ito ang talagang nakikita kong goal: ‘Pag sila nabalik sa power, ‘yung mga nakadispute na ari-arian, gold deposit, lahat ‘yan malilinis na ‘yan. Pwede na matransfer sa sariling account nila,” Pacquiao said.
(They really want to return Malacañang because they will be exempted from taxes. Also, I think their goal in reclaiming the power is to clear the disputes on their property and gold deposits. They can transfer all that to their own accounts.)
“Sinasabi ko sa inyo, malaki ang posibilidad na magkaron kayo ng martial law uli. Sige, kung ‘yan ang gusto ninyo yan, iboto niyo,” he said.
(I’m telling you, there’s a high possibility that we could under martial law again. If that’s what you want, go vote for him.)
If this happens, Pacquiao said that more Filipinos could join the communist movement in a bid to oust another dictator. He said he is willing to fight for the country, too.
“Ako, wala naman akong problema, fighter naman ako. Basta para sa bayan, laban,” he said.
(I don’t have any problem with it. I’m a fighter. If it’s for the country, I will fight.)
Pacquiao earlier called on the public not to vote for a thief as president, and said that only the stupidest people would vote for one.
'ANG PINAKABOBO SA BANSA 'YUNG BOBOTO SA MAGNANAKAW.'
During his campaign on Thursday, presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao took a swipe at his critics who question his intelligence yet will vote for a thief. #VotePH #OurVoteOurFuture pic.twitter.com/inGgRDabUd
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) March 4, 2022
INQUIRER.net has tried to get the side of the Marcos camp, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.