MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson said Saturday he was asked to drop his presidential bid to allow Vice President Leni Robredo and Senate President Tito Sotto to form a tandem for the coming elections.
Lacson did not reveal who approached him and made the suggestion, but said the offer was relayed to him in Pampanga.
“Sa akin may lumapit, alam niyo ang offer, doon sa Pampanga… alam niyo ang proposal niya sa akin: ‘Senator, kaya naming paatrasin si Kiko (Senator Francis Pangilinan) at ipasok si Senate President bilang vice president ni Leni basta magwithdraw ka lang,” he said at the Pandesal Forum.
(Someone approached me in Pampanga. The proposal was: “Senator, we can make Kiko back out and make the Senate President as the vice presidential candidate of Leni. But you have to withdraw your candidacy.”)
Pangilinan is the running mate of Robredo.
“I rejected. Sabi ko, anong klaseng offer ‘yan, ilalalaglag niyo ang kasama niyo para lang manalo ang principal ninyo? So I rejected,” said Lacson.
(I rejected it. I asked them, what kind of offer is this, you will abandon your ally so that your principal can win? So I rejected it.)
INQUIRER.net sought the comment of Pangilinan and Robredo through her spokesperson Atty. Barry Guttierrez.
Meanwhile, Lacson said he heard there were also efforts to make Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Manny Pacquiao drop their respective presidential bids.
“I don’t know what kind of offer was given to Mayor Isko but I heard na ganun din, may effort, na para pagwithdrawhin siya. Si Senator Manny Pacquiao nag-express na rin, may lumapit din daw sa kanila, Anong klaseng mga tao ito, ‘di ba? Arrogance has no place in a decent society,” he added.
(I don’t know what kind of offer was given to Mayor Isko but I heard there were also efforts to make him withdraw. Senator Manny Pacquiao also said that someone approached him. What kind of people are they? Arrogance has no place in a decent society.)
Lacson said this as former senator Bongbong Marcos maintains his lead in the latest Pulse Asia voter preference survey from March 17 to 21.
According to the survey, Marcos’ numbers dropped by 4 percentage points, from the previous 60 percent in February to 56 percent in March. Meanwhile, the voter share of second-placer Robredo increased from 15 percentage points in February to now 24 percent.