Ping: I will crawl to the end

Presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson speaks with residents of Bogo City in Cebu during a town hall meeting on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Photo from Lacson-Sotto media bureau

MANILA, Philippines — No amount of setback or pressure can ever force presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson to drop out of the presidential race, even if it means having to crawl to the finish line, the senator said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Lacson again turned down proposals for him to back out of the race to give way to a stronger candidate from the opposition to stop a possible win by the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“When I put my heart into a crusade—I call this a crusade—to advance my advocacies, that’s it. I can end up having just one leg, I will finish the race; I may end up crippled, I will crawl to finish the race,” he said.

Common VP bet

Lacson made the assertion following his own offer of sharing Senate President Vicente Sotto III as a common vice presidential candidate for him and rival Sen. Manny Pacquiao, should his own running mate, House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza drop out.

He said his offer has been misconstrued as an implied intention to withdraw.

“If they are interested [in having] a Pacquiao-Sotto tandem, I am willing to share. But to ask me to resign, no,” he said.

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