Lacson claims he was offered to drop presidential bid to allow Robredo-Sotto tandem

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson has claimed that he was asked to drop his presidential bid in exchange for an unlikely offer.

According to Lacson, he was offered to withdraw his run for president in exchange for his running mate Senator Vicente Sotto III to be Robredo's vice presidential bet. He explained that Robredo’s running mate Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, will be replaced with Sotto if he decides to withdraw.

Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed he was asked to drop from the presidential race
Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed he was asked to drop from the presidential race in exchange of a Leni Robredo- Tito Sotto tandem

Lacson said, “Sa akin may lumapit. Alam ninyo offer? Doon sa Pampanga. Alam mo ang proposal niya sa akin? Senator, kaya naming paatrasin si Kiko at ipasok si Senate President bilang vice president ni Leni basta mag-withdraw ka lang. I rejected [it].”

"Sabi ko, anong klaseng offer ‘yan? Sabi ko ilalaglag ninyo ‘yung kasama ninyo para lang manalo ‘yung principal ninyo? So, I rejected,” he added.

The presidentiable said the offer was probably the same one Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Manny Pacquiao earlier received. He described the move as a display of arrogance.

"I don’t know what kind of offer was given to Mayor Isko but I heard na ganoon din may effort na para pag-withdraw-hin siya. Si Senator Manny Pacquiao nag-express na rin, may lumapit din daw sa kanila. Anong klaseng mga tao ito, ‘di ba? Arrogance has no place in a decent society," Lacson added.

Earlier, Pacquiao revealed that there were emissaries who asked him to withdraw in a bid to “reshuffle” the candidates. He didn’t mention the candidate’s name where the offer was from, but they were looking for a unification. However, he stays firm in his run for president.

“Ang desisyon kasi namin ni vice Lito ay tuloy ang laban at para ito sa bayan. Hindi ito para sa sarili namin. Kasi kung iniisip namin ay para sa sarili namin ay makikipag-compromise kami,” Pacquiao said.

The senator, however, clarified that he is open to the possible Pacquiao-Sotto tandem. Pacquiao's running mate, former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza is willing to drop his bid for the vice president if it happens.

Robredo’s camp denies

Meanwhile, Robredo’s camp denies the allegations that they are dropping their vice presidentiable in exchange for Sotto. In an interview, Ibarra Gutierrez, Robredo's spokesperson, clarified that such moves didn’t come from them.

“What I can confirm and say with complete clarity is that this [effort to make Lacson and Senator Kiko withdraw] did not come from Leni-Kiko campaign team. There are no recent efforts to talk to him from our end," Gutierrez said.

"This is not coming from us. There are no active efforts to actually try to talk to other candidates and bring them in," he added.

Robredo’s spokesperson asked Lacson to reveal his source of information. He added that their camp is more focused on the campaign, and while they’re open to talks, they will not initiate any.

— Sally, The Summit Express



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  1. Pangalanan mo para Malaman hindi puro Salita lang at Para Malaman ang totoo.

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