PROMDI Party presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao yesterday confirmed that the joint press conference last Sunday at the Manila Peninsula Hotel was originally intended as a show of solidarity for clean and orderly elections.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at the Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte, Pacquiao disclosed that he had not read the joint statement and had no idea that he was supposed to affix his signature on the document when it was presented to the media during the event.
The retired boxing icon stressed that criticizing other candidates was not in the agenda agreed upon or he would not have accepted the invitation.
“The presscon was all about a unity call for clean and honest elections. There was no talk of denouncing another candidate and asking her to withdraw,” he clarified.
He said he would have attended the press conference were it not for the hour-long delay before the flight he was on was allowed to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
After the messy turnout of the joint press conference when Reporma Party presidential bet Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso called for Vice President Leni Robredo to back out of the presidential race, Pacquiao said he considers the delay divine intervention.
“If you trust God to guide you, He will find ways to protect you,” he said.
Pacquiao said he had also been approached about withdrawing to switch his support for Robredo in defeating former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. but he turned down the proposal.
The senator said he is barnstorming Ilocos Norte, Marcos’ home province, to test the so-called Solid North.
Mobbed by a screaming crowd of supporters who lined the roads traversed by his caravan, Pacquiao predicted that he will give Marcos a good run for his money in getting Ilocano votes.
“I did not expect the huge crowd that met my arrival. It was a pleasant surprise considering that this is Bongbong’s base. This confirms to me that there is no Solid North,” he added.
