Lacson, Sotto: Don’t vote for ‘thieves’, bets surrounded by ‘bad influence’

Presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson and vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente Sotto III hold a press conference in Tagaytay on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. They are joined by senatorial contender former Agriculture Sec. Manny Piñol. Photo from Lacson-Sotto media bureau

MANILA, Philippines — With less than a week before Election Day, May 9, the tandem of presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson and vice presidential bet Vicente Sotto III reminded voters not to choose as the country’s next leaders “thieves” and candidates surrounded by “bad influence.”

In a press conference in Tagaytay on Tuesday, Lacson again warned against voting for those who will steal from the country’s coffers and fool the nation.

“Ang sinasabi ko lang, ‘wag boboto ng magnanakaw. ‘Wag boboto ng mga manloloko. Kasi patay tayong lahat diyan pag ang nanalo magnanakaw—without referring to anybody—but generic, ‘pag bumoto tayo ng magnanakaw e ‘di nanakawan tayo kasi binoto natin. Pag nagboto tayo ng manloloko, anim na taon tayong lolokohin,” said Lacson, an incumbetn senator.

(What I said was don’t vote for thieves. Don’t vote for those who will fool us. Because we will suffer if a thief wins—without referring to anybody—but, generic, if we vote for a thief, we will be stolen from. If we vote for someone who will fool us, we will be fooled for six years.)

Lacson, in his campaign, has repeatedly promised to crack down on corruption if elected.

For his part, Sotto cited the consequences of voting for candidates surrounded by “bad influence.”

“Pagka kasi boboto tayo ng kandidato, binoboto rin natin yung mga nakapaligid sa kanya. So, kung ang mga nakapaligid sa kanya ay masamang impluwensya, ano mangyayari sa bansa natin in the next six years?” said Sotto, incumbent Senate President.

(Every time we vote for a candidate, we are also voting for the people close to that candidate. So if the people surrounding that candidate are a bad influence, what will happen to the country in the next six years?)

“Ang daming nagugutom, ang daming walang hanapbuhay…kawawa magsasaka, kawawa mangingisda, kawawa yung mga MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), pagkatapos ang ilalagay natin sila sila lang din ulit ang magpupuno ng wallet nila?” he added.

(Many are hungry, many are jobless, our farmers and fishermen are struggling as well as MSMEs, and then we will elect those who will stuff their wallets full?)

He then advised voters to take a look at the people surrounding the candidates.

“Tignan niyo yung mga nakapaligid. Kung masama ang record ng nakapaligid, ‘wag mo iboto. Kung ang mga nakapaligid mga sinungaling, ‘wag mong iboboto dahil mga sinungaling yun e. Pagsisinungalingan nun ang buong bayan sa anim na taon,” he also said.

(Look at the people surrounding the candidates. If those people have a bad record, don’t vote for those candidates. If those surrounding a candidate are liars, don’t vote for them. The country will just be lied to for six years.)

At the home stretch of the 2022 campaign, Lacson and Sotto headed to Muntinlupa City where they held Tuesday their usual town hall meeting – their preferred way of engaging voters.