‘Parang napilitan lang siya:’ Lacson bares convos with Go prior to withdrawal

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, during one of the Senate’s hybrid plenary sessions. Senate PRIB file photo / Voltaire F. Domingo

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Bong Go already felt “dejected” and intimated that he was “not prepared” to run for the country’s top post before eventually withdrawing from the presidential race, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday, citing their previous conversations.

“Ngayon ko lang nalaman na officially nag-withdraw na si Senator Bong Go, although matagal na niyang in-indicate. Maski pagka nasa lounge kami, talagang he would feel dejected, frustrated doon sa mga developments,” Lacson, who Go would have gone against in the presidential race, said in a press conference following his dialogue with transport sector leaders.

(I only learned it now that Senator Bong Go officially withdrew, although he had indicated it for a while now. Even when we were in the lounge, he really would feel dejected, frustrated with the developments.)

According to Lacson, Go had told him and Senate President Vicente Sotto III that while he was ready to run for the vice presidency, a presidential run was something he had “not prepared for.”

“‘Ready naman ako mag-vice president, pero itong presidential run, parang this is something that I don’t expect and I have not prepared for.’ So, ‘yon, kasi maski noon pa ini-indicate niya na talagang medyo half-hearted ‘yung kanyang… Parang napilitan lang siya,” Lacson quoted Go as saying.

(“I was ready to run for vice president, but this presidential run, this is something that I don’t expect and I have not prepared for.” So there, even then he was indicating that he was really half-hearted with… It seems he was obliged to do so.)

Earlier in the day, Go announced he is withdrawing from the presidential race for the 2022 elections.

In October, Go filed his candidacy to run for vice president under PDP-Laban’s Cusi faction.

But he eventually formalized his bid for the presidency as a substitute for Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan’s (PDDS) initial standard bearer, Grepor Belgica, last Nov. 16.

“At ang sinasabi niya sa amin, kino-confide niya sa aming dalawa ni Senate President ‘pag nasa lounge kami, ‘yung tete-a-tete namin doon bago o kaya during the session break, sinasabi niya na ‘hindi ko alam paano ako napunta rito kasi talagang happy na ako… ‘Yung pagka-senador nga, hindi ko na akalain na naging senador ako,” Lacson went on.

(He was telling us, confiding in us both with the Senate President when we’re in the lounge, in our tete-a-tete there before or during session breaks, he was saying ‘I don’t know how I got here because I was already happy… Even becoming a senator, I didn’t expect that I would become a senator.)

Lacson then wished Go “good luck” in his future endeavors.

“After all, he’s my colleague in the Senate. Kami kasi meron kaming unwritten rule, ano. Pagka kapwa mo senador, kapwa mo senador ‘yan, and you don’t—normally, hangga’t maiiwasan, you don’t speak ill of your colleagues in the Senate,” he said.

(That’s all I can say, and I wish him luck. We have an unwritten rule – if it’s a fellow senator, it’s a fellow senator, and you don’t – normally, as much as you can avoid it, you don’t speak ill of your colleagues in the Senate.)

“So, good luck to Senator Bong Go, ano man ang kanyang plano sa buhay henceforth. Good luck sa kanya,” Lacson added.

(So, good luck to Senator Bong Go, whatever his plans in life are henceforth. Good luck to him.)

Go, who served as President Rodrigo Duterte’s long-time aide before going into politics, still has three years left on his six-year Senate term.

Meanwhile, Lacson and his vice presidential running mate, Sotto, will both step down from the Senate on June 30, 2022, regardless of the result of the May polls.

JPV