THE camp of opposition presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday said Sen. “Ping” Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, and former national security adviser Norberto Gonzales should ask themselves who really stands to benefit from their attacks against her.
The Vice President’s camp pointed out that the three presidential candidates started ganging up against the only female aspirant just as her campaign is beginning to gather steam.
“With three weeks to go before election day, we are at a time of great momentum for our people’s campaign and increasing clarity as regards which candidates can count on the people’s support when they enter voting booths on May 9,” said Robredo’s spokesman Ibarra Gutierrez said in statement.
Surveys on presidential preferences have consistently showed Robredo at the second spot behind former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
If surveys are to be believed, it appears the Vice President is the only candidate who has the best chance of beating the late dictator’s son.
While Gutierrez did not answer allegations against Robredo one by one, he said “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,” he said.
Robredo’s camp has been making it clear that the Vice President has not asked other presidential candidates to withdraw.
In Lacson’s case, Robredo supporter former Quezon City mayor Jun Simon said last week he acted on his own when he urged the senator to give up his bid and “release” his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III who still has a good chance of winning the vice presidential race.
Gutierrez said that in making political choices, the other candidates should have asked themselves: “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,” he said.
Moreno’s call for the Vice President to withdraw her bid did not elicit a comment from Robredo’s spokesman. Gutierrez, however, said their camp is “thankful that the alignments have been made even clearer.”
“And we remain focused on showing our people that a Robredo presidency will mean a victory for all Filipinos,” he said.
Robredo’s running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the attacks against Vice President only show she is better than all her rivals.
“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 (She towers over her rivals. She planted not only words in press conferences but groundwork in the streets, alleys and wherever someone is in need),” he said in a statement.
Pangilinan said Robredo has always been on top of the situation, working as long as 18 hours a day no matter what the challenges the country is facing, be it floods, fuel and food price hikes, smuggling, graft and corruption.
Pangilinan said their camp clearly has the momentum, winning more and more support by the day “amid the desperation of some politicians.”
He said it is not the style of their camp to pull political maneuvers.
“We’ll not lose focus because of the attacks from our rivals. We are focused on the what the people need and the public that we serve are the ones who are saying that the last man standing is a woman,” he said in Filipino.
