By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: Twitter

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno claimed that there are groups urging him to withdraw his presidential bid and instead be appointed as the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).



“Alam ito ng mga group chat ng mga dilawan o pinklawan. They continue to send the message that on May 1, I will withdraw, and I will be appointed as secretary of DILG. How persistent they are? If I may borrow Sen. Ping Lacson’s word, ‘hinuhubaran kami’,” Moreno said during a joint press briefing with Senators Ping Lacson, Tito Sotto, and former defense chief Norberto Gonzales held in Manila Peninsula Hotel.

“Hindi kami mabili, ang binibili, tao namin. May bumili sa mga tao ni Senator Ping. May bumili sa mga tao namin, at it seems isang kulay lang lahat ng ito. Iisa ang gumagalaw sa aming lahat,” he added.


Lacson says he’s ‘hijacked’ by Partido Reporma

Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson said he had the same experience with Moreno, citing the sudden switch of support of his former party Partido Reporma to the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo.

“Nangyari sa akin, yung Reporma, nahijack. And then si Mayor Isko yung Ikaw Na sa Cebu, ganon din,” he said.

“Obvious na kumausap sa ’kin ‘yung camp ni Vice President Robredo. May follow up pa nga. Former Mayor Jun Simon, in my face, sinabi sa ’kin na kung pwede kang mag-withraw, paatrasin namin si Kiko Pangilinan. Anong klaseng offer ‘yan? Ka-tandem niyo ilalaglag niyo para manalo ‘yung principal?” he added.

Former defense chief Norberto Gonzales, meanwhile, said he also received an offer to withdraw his presidential bid from retired Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon. Guanzon, however, rebuked Gonzales.

“Publicly, kinausap ako, nagsalita sa public si former Commissioner Guanzon. Sinabi niya, ‘My friend Bert, magpaka-bayani ka. Umatras ka na. Tulungan mo ‘yung kandidato,’” he said.

“Bert Gonzales why did u fall into that trap ? Why are u talking as if there is a funeral. May namatay ba ? #LeniRobredo2022. Bert, u said ikaw ang kulelat so why dont u withdraw ? U are loyal to GMA. But if u dont want to withdraw di huwag mo,” Guanzon, in her series of tweets, said in response.


 

Lacson: We have 10 hopefuls, not just 2

In the same press conference, Lacson said he is pushing the unification with other hopefuls, claiming that Robredo is just filing her candidacy to run against the presidency of the late dictator’s son and former senator Bongbong Marcos.

“Parang nili-limit na lang ‘yung choice or choices sa dalawa. Nakakahon na lang and that’s the reason why we have to do this. That among 111 million Filipinos or so, hindi lang dalawa ‘yung pagpipilian. Actually, meron pang ibang tumatakbo,” he said.

He added that Filipinos nowadays are not looking for the competence and qualities in voting for their candidates: “Kasi tayo mahilig tayo sa lyamado. We’re not looking anymore at the competence, at the qualifications, and even the experience of the candidates.”


‘Sad boy’ time as Isko dares Robredo to withdraw

Furthermore, Moreno urged Robredo to withdraw her presidential bid. Adding that he, Lacson, and Gonzales can also serve as “alternatives” against Marcos.



"If they are calling for supreme sacrifice, diba the yellow/pink are calling for supreme sacrifice? Edi ang pinaka-supreme sacrifice, if you are not a good player to win, then you pay the supreme sacrifice, you withdraw.... Now we are calling: Be a hero. Withdraw, Leni,” he said.

"I'm calling for Leni to withdraw kasi whatever you are doing is not effective against the Marcos. Withdraw, come and join us. Pwede pa-sub? Pa-sub naman. Baka kami maka-three points, isa sa amin," he added.

Netizens suspected it to be ironic that the three Palace aspirants did not attack Bongbong Marcos who has the largest lead in the surveys with more than 56 percent, and Robredo as the second placer with 24 percent.


Joint press con a ‘major red flag’

Netizens air their disappointment with the aspirants conducting their press conference during the onslaught of Typhoon Agaton which creates massive damage to Visayas and Mindanao provinces leaving more than a hundred casualties.



“The fact they're doing this presscon in Manila Peninsula when our country was just hit by a devastating storm that killed hundreds is already a major red flag. (For reference: breakfast at the hotel today costs P4,300 per head),” Ezra Acayan, photographer for Getty Images, said.

When asked by the media, Lacson responded: I don’t think that deserves an answer.




Leni, Ka Leody unbothered; Pangilinan, VP’s camp downplay Easter press con ‘theatrics’

Amid the press conference, Robredo and her fellow presidentiable Ka Leody De Guzman seem to be unbothered. Robredo met with Sumilao farmers in her hometown Naga City and De Guzman was seen eating a halo-halo with his running mate Walden Bello in South Cotabato.



“Masarap ang halohalo dito sa South Cotabato pero di singmahal nung halohalo sa Manila Pen. Ano bang kaguluhan dun ngayon?” De Guzman said in a tweet.

“Di rin kami aatras... sa Halo Halo,” Bello joked in a separate tweet.


The vice president’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez, in a statement, dismissed the Easter conference as “mere theatrics.”

“From the start, it has been the prerogative of every candidate to continue till the end, the same as it is the choice of a candidate to disregard surveys, rally attendance, endorsements, or any other conventional measure of support. We wish every candidate who decides to push through to the end, only the best,” Gutierrez’s statement read.



“But in making these choices, should we not ask ourselves: Must this assertion be made through bluster and falsehood? Who benefits from such theatrics? What is the best for the Filipino people? Perhaps, silence would have had more depth; at the very least, it would exhibit less self-entitlement, fragility, and toxicity,” it added.

On the other hand, Robredo’s running mate Kiko Pangilinan said she deserves to be the next president of the country “as Filipinos are thirsty for good governance.”

“Angat lalo si VP Leni sa mga katunggali. Nagtatanim siya ‘di lang ng salita sa mga press con, kundi mga gawain ng pag-asa sa kalye, sa looban, sa parang, at saan man may nangangailangan,” Pangilinan said.



“Sa gitna ng bagyo at pagbaha, sa gitna ng tag-init. Sa gitna ng taasan ng presyo ng gas at pagkain. Sa gitna ng smuggling at pangungurakot, nagta-trabaho nang higit 18 hours a day inaako ang pinapasang krus ng taumbayang pinababayaan. Si VP Leni ang daserb (deserve) ng mga Pilipino’t Pilipinang uhaw sa pamunuang tapat,” he added.