PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson yesterday said former Quezon City mayor Brigido “Jun” Simon Jr. tried to convince him to withdraw from the presidential derby in favor of Vice President Leni Robredo, but he rejected the suggestion.
In a statement, Lacson said Simon approached him last March 12 while they were in a campaign sortie in Pampanga and asked him to back out of the race.
Lacson said the former mayor “told me they can convince Sen. (Francis) Pangilinan to withdraw to give way to the tandem of Vice President (Leni) Robredo and my running mate, Senate President (Vicente) Tito Sotto (III).”
“But I cut him off right there and told him ‘I am not withdrawing. May usapang lalaki kami ni SP Sotto na magkasama kami all the way (SP Sotto and I have a gentleman’s agreement that we will fight together until the end),” Lacson said.
He added he likewise told Simon that he had rejected “two previous attempts of the Vice President towards unification but obviously only for herself.”
“He (Simon) stopped talking and left,” he said.
In an interview with Teleradyo, Simon said he approached Lacson voluntarily in an effort to salvage Sotto’s vice presidential run out of their long-time friendship.
“Palagay ko kako senador (Lacson), mahirap na kayo manalo pero bise pwede pa manalo, kung maaari mapawalan… ‘yun lang ang sakin, mungkahi (I said, senator, it would be difficult for you to win but your vice presidential candidate can still win so maybe you can let him go…that’s just it, a suggestion),” he said.
Simon noted that Sotto’s survey rating was at 36 percent but it began to drop after March 12, so he decided to make a move and talk to Lacson “because my friend Tito Sotto still has a good chance at winning.”
“Halos lahat ng bise hinahatak ng presidential candidate paakyat e, dito si Tito hinahatak pababa e (Almost all vice presidential candidates are get pulled up by their presidential candidates but in this case, he is being pulled down),” said Simon of Sotto, a former vice mayor of Quezon City.
“Iyan e inisyatibo ko lang, siyempre nasa pulitika tayo. Mahal ko po ang partner ko (That’s just my initiative, of course because we’re in politics. I love my (former) partner (Sotto).”
Simon said Pangilinan, who was councilor when he was mayor, should not take his initiative personally and think that he is being “dropped.”
“Hindi tama ang salitang laglag (The word drop is wrong),” he said.”Kapag ang barko lumulubog, kapitan ang huling tumatalon para kung kayang mabuhay ibang pasahero, mailigtas pa. (When a ship is sinking, the last one to jump is always the captain to save the passengers),” he said.
Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said Simon is not authorized to speak for the Vice President’s campaign, maintaining that Pangilinan will be their running mate until the end.
“He has no official role,” Gutierrez said in a text message. “If he indeed talked to Sen. Lacson, then that is his personal initiative. Our position is crystal clear — VP Leni’s choice for Vice President is Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, and we will do our utmost in the remaining 28 days before May 9 to work for his election.”
While he thanked Simon for his “voluntary efforts” to reach out to Lacson, former Quezon Rep. Lorenz “Erin” Tañada, spokesman for the “Tropang Angat” senatorial slate said that “Mayor Jun is not authorized to negotiate and speak for the national campaign.”
“Vice President Leni has already declared since day one that she is fully committed to Senator Kiko Pangilinan as her candidate for Vice President. We will work hard for the victory of Leni-Kiko on Election Day,” he said.
Lacson said Simon kept on asking for an appointment with him “purportedly in relation to my campaign” but he ignored him.
“I did not respond as I wasn’t sure what the agenda was, not to mention that I do not know him that well and I was busy campaigning,” he said.
Lacson, however, did not say if Simon was an emissary from another presidential candidate.
It can be recalled that Lacson had a talk with Robredo before the filing of the certificates of candidacies with the latter proposing that the opposition field a common set of candidates to increase their chance of winning the elections against administration-backed bets.
Lacson said he did not like the idea, so he instead proposed that all non-administration presidential aspirants file their respective COCs and they will back out in favor of those who will perform well in pre-election surveys.
Lacson’s recommendation was also rejected by Robredo.
Earlier, House deputy speaker Lito Atienza, who said he was having second thoughts in pursuing the vice presidency, convinced Lacson to withdraw from the race so Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao, who is also eyeing the presidency, can team up with Sotto.
But, Atienza, in a sudden turn around, said he has decided not to back out of the race since Lacson is firm to continue with his presidential run until the May elections.
In a media forum yesterday, Lacson said his withdrawal from the presidential race is a “non-issue” and will not happen despite his poor ratings in pre-election surveys.
“If he [Atienza] is interested to have a Pacquiao-Sotto [team up], they can do that. I am willing to share [Sotto]. But to ask me to resign, that will not happen because I already said my piece…So, shall we revert to the issue? It is a non-issue actually…That is my position, so my withdrawal [from the race] is a non-issue),” Lacson said in a chance interview after the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel media forum.
Besides, he added, he and Sotto are running for the benefit of the Filipino people, not to prevent the win of other candidates.
For his part, Sotto said it is good that other politicians like Atienza would be endorsing him, but to ask a particular candidate to withdraw is not good, unless the candidate himself volunteers to back out.
NOT WITHDRAWING — MORENO
The political party of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso rejected proposals for him to withdraw from the presidential race as this would only benefit the camp of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Aksyon Demokratiko chairperson Ernest Ramel Jr. made the remark less than a month before the May 9 local and national elections where Moreno is vying against Marcos Jr., Robredo, Pacquiao, Lacson, labor leader Ka Leody De Guzman, former Duterte spokesperson Ernesto Abella, former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Faisal Mangondato and Jose Montemayor Jr. for the highest post in the land.
Ramel said Moreno has a chance to bag the presidency in the May 9 elections considering that he is the top alternative for post.
He cited the April 4-6 poll result of market research firm Tangere which he said showed the Manila mayor as the next preferred presidential candidate after Marcos.
The survey has 1,200 respondents.
Marcos Jr. still topped the said survey with a score of 48 percent followed by Moreno with 24.21 percent.
Robredo garnered only 21 percent.
Ramel said this showed that their standard bearer has a greater chance of defeating Marcos than Robredo.
“There are people saying that he should withdraw from the race but that is wrong. If he withdraws, it’s showing that 45 percent of those who chose him will go instead to Marcos while only four percent will go to VP Robredo,” Ramel told CNN Philippines, citing the same Tangere survey result.
“The probative value of being second choice is that there are many soft supporters among the Marcos and the Robredo supporters. There could still be a shift in support towards a different candidate,” he added.
He said the presidential race will eventually become a three-way race between Marcos, Robredo and Moreno.
Ramel said they are confident the so-called “silent majority” will eventually back Moreno’s presidential bid.
On Sunday night, Moreno and his slate held the “Isigaw mo, Isko!” concert-rally in Manila, which his camp said was reportedly attended by over 80,000 supporters.
PACMAN-SOTTO OFF
House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza yesterday said he has called off his offer to withdraw from the vice presidential race to forge a unity ticket between PROMDi party presidential candidate Pacquiao and Sotto.
The senior lawmaker said with Lacson having shot down any likelihood of backing out to shift his support to Pacquiao, there is no longer any point in pushing for a Manny-Sotto (Ma-So) tandem.
Atienza clarified that the rationale behind his overture is to field a stronger challenge against Marcos and his running mate Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
But since Lacson has made a categorical stand against dropping out of the race, then his own withdrawal would serve no purpose.
“I am not interested in the vice presidency. I am interested in preventing Mr. Marcos from becoming the next president of the land. If there will be no change, then he is as sure as elected,” Atienza said.
He warned Filipino voters that a Marcos win in the May 9 elections would be an international embarrassment for the country since other countries are aware that the family has not yet returned unexplained and unlawfully acquired wealth. — With Wendell Vigilia, Ashzel Hachero and Peter Tabingo
