Senator Manny Pacquiao and Vice President Leni Robredo (right). INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday broke his silence, saying the call for Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw from the presidential race was not part of the plan when fellow aspirants held the Easter Sunday press conference.
Pacquiao was invited to attend the controversial press briefing but said he was not unable to attend due to a conflict in his schedule. During the presser, he was in his hometown General Santos City.
The senator said he did not expect that it would be the outcome of the joint press conference, saying participants only agreed to unite for peaceful and clean elections.
“Ang presscon na ‘yun, hindi naman ‘yun pag-atake ng mga kandidato. ‘Yung presscon na ‘yun sa pagkakaisa na magkaroon ng malinis na halalan, honest na halalan at magkaroon ng pagtutulungan doon sa isang adhikain kung paano natin matutulungan ang ating mga kababayan, paunlarin yung bansa natin,” he said in a chance interview in Ilocos Norte.
(The presscon was not supposed to attack any candidate. The presscon was supposed to be about uniting for clean and honest elections and have advocacy on how to help the nation.)
“Wala sa usapan ‘yung manira tayo ng tao doon at magsasabing mag-withdraw ka. Wala naman kaming ano.. Inaasahan naming lahat na… Ako inaasahan ko naman na lahat tatakbo lahat, walang magwi-withdraw. At unexpected ‘yung mga sinabi doon,” Pacquiao added.
(We did not plan on criticizing a candidate there and calling for them to withdraw. I am expecting that all candidates will finish the race. The things said there were unexpected.)
Pacquiao said he did not know that there would be a manifesto that would be signed.
“Ang pagkakaalam ko ‘yung presscon na ‘yun, pagkakaisa, ‘yung paghikayat na kailangan magtiwala tayo sa ating gobyerno, sa Comelec, at isulong natin ‘yung malinis na halalan, walang dayaan at matiwasay na halalan,” he said.
(What I know was that presscon was supposed to be about unity and the call for trust in government institutions such as the Comelec and the call for clean and peaceful elections.)
Among those who attended the presser held at a posh Makati hotel were Senator Panfilo Lacson, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, and former national security adviser Norbert Gonzales, who offered themselves as alternatives to Robredo to pose a stronger challenge against preelection survey frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Robredo is a far second to Marcos, despite a 9% jump in percentage points in the latest Pulse Asia survey.
Subsequently, Moreno and Gonzales called on Robredo to “make the supreme sacrifice” of withdrawing from the race, claiming that he and one of his other rivals for the presidency could have a better chance of winning against Marcos Jr.
Lacson earlier said Moreno went off script when he called for the withdrawal of Robredo from the presidential race, taking him by surprise.
Gonzales already apologized for the call, admitting he felt “uncomfortable” when Moreno called for her withdrawal from the race, but the Manila mayor stood his ground saying he was just giving the Robredo camp a “dose of their own medicine” in calling for his own withdrawal from the race.