Like Lacson, Pacquiao distances himself from Leni withdrawal call

Pacquiao also glad he wasn't at the presscon
Apr 19, 2022
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Pacquiao with his wife Jinkee during the filing of his certificate of candidacy in 2021.
PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

HIS NAME may have been at the bottom of the joint press statement read out by three presidential candidates during an Easter Sunday press conference, but Manny Pacquiao appears to have been blindsided by Isko Moreno Domagoso’s sudden jabs at Leni Robredo.

And like Ping Lacson, Pacquiao is distancing himself from the Manila mayor’s call for the vice president to withdraw her bid for the top spot.

In an interview on ABS-CBN on Tuesday morning, the retired boxer’s campaign manager Buddy Zamora said that Pacquiao is not in favor of Moreno’s appeal.

“Senator Pacquiao believes that the choice is up to the people and since everybody filed the candidacy for presidency, he’d want the choice to be really coming from the people, not from any calls for others to withdraw,” added Zamora.

Presidential candidate Norberto Gonzales also denounced Domagoso's statement.

"I'm sorry about that. Hindi ganun ang tingin namin sa magiging press conference. Akala namin it's the beginning of that very happy feeling na nagkakasundo kami, magtutulungan kami after the elections," said the former defense secretary in a Tuesday interview with ANC.

He also apologized to Robredo.

Even Isko's own running mate Dr. Willie Ong is distancing himself from Isko's call.

Both Gonzales and Ong were at Sunday's press conference panel when Isko said, “If you are not a good player to win, then you pay the supreme sacrifice, you withdraw.

“Be a hero. Withdraw, Leni.”

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    Pacquiao did not show up during press conference

    Isko Moreno’s campaign strategist has admitted to Inquirer that Moreno’s appeal to Robredo was an “off-the-cuff moment,” and does not reflect the views of the other presidential candidates.

    Pacquiao was supposed to be present during the joint press conference of Domagoso, Lacson, and Gonzales, but was unable to make it to the Peninsula Manila venue in time. He had supposedly come from General Santos at the time, though vice presidential candidate Tito Sotto assured reporters that he was "one with the group; nakikiisa sa layunin nitong usapan."

    Moreno told assembled media that Pacquiao had signed their joint statement, though copies circulated after the presscon showed only his name and not his signature.

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    On Monday, Pacquiao's running mate Lito Atienza said that Pacquiao was glad he did not attend the press conference.

    "[S]abi niya ‘buti na lang hindi ako um-attend parang may nagbulong sa akin na huwag kang um-attend diyan. Puro kalokohan lang ang mangyayari dyan," Atienza told One News Now.

    In the Tuesday interview, Zamora also admitted as much, saying that Pacquiao's plane was still in the air when the press conference began.

    "We call it divine intervention that he did not make it," he said.

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    Pacquiao with his wife Jinkee during the filing of his certificate of candidacy in 2021.
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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