THE tandem of presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson and vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente Sotto III yesterday withdrew its support to the reelection bid of Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri after the latter endorsed the candidacy of a rival candidate.
Lacson, in an interview in Romblon, said he and Sotto have made it clear from the start that they will stop backing the candidacies of their guest senatorial candidates if they endorse their rivals.
Zubiri was seen raising the hand of presidential candidate former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last March 31 during the UniTeam’s campaign rally in Bukidnon.
“Alam naman nila ‘yun, kung ano ang consequence kung ayaw nila sa amin at iba ang gustong dalhin eh. Parang awkward naman na dalhin pa rin namin sila. So, it’s a personal choice, no hurt feelings… Puede silang i-endorse at ma-adopt ng iba, pero once they parang endorse another team, tandem, so be it, and that’s it (They know the consequences of their action if they favor another [tandem]. It will be awkward on our part if we will continue to endorse them. So, it’s a personal choice, no hurt feelings. They can be endorsed or adopted by other teams but to somewhat endorse another team, tandem, so be it, and that’s it),” Lacson said.
The Lacson-Sotto tandem has dropped from their list of candidates former QC Mayor Herbert Bautista and re-electionist Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian after the two endorsed the candidacies of Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio during their proclamation rally last February.
At present, Lacson said the senatorial candidates under their slate are Sen. Joel Villanueva, former DICT secretary Gregorio Honasan, former senator JV Ejercito, former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol, former PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar and Dra. Minguita Padilla.
Lacson said that the senatorial candidates have sworn to stick it out with the Lacson-Sotto tandem even if they have been endorsed or adopted by other coalitions.
Reports have said that Zubiri did not only raise the hand of Marcos Jr. but even called him as “our president” during the campaign rally.
“This is my first time to witness a crowd here as huge as this to support one person… Many people love our president. It’s over. Let’s go home, we have a winner,” Zubiri said in the Visayan dialect during the UniTeam sortie in his hometown Bukidnon on Thursday last week.
During last Sunday’s second presidential debate organized by the Commission on Elections, Lacson reiterated his warning that the peoples’ votes will be wasted if these are cast in favor of “thieves” and “incompetent” candidates.
“Palagi naming naririning, sayang daw ang boto sa mas kwalipikado dahil baka hindi lang manalo. Ang totoong sayang na boto at ‘yung para sa hindi karapat-dapat na manalo at sa mga magnanakaw na dapat walang karapatang maluklok sa puesto (We often hear that votes will just be wasted when the people will vote for someone who is most qualified but has less chances of winning [due to poor ratings in surveys]. The real waste of votes is when people vote the incompetent and the thieves who have no right to be in the seat of power),” Lacson said in his closing statement.
“Maawa na po tayo sa ating mga kababayang Pilipino (Have pity on our compatriots),” he added.
Lacson said voters should not be swayed because of money being offered during the campaign period as the candidate who does that will only steal from the government’s coffers once elected to get back what he or she has spent.
“With the rigors and influence of money politics in this campaign, and the opportunism and treachery that go with it, I keep asking this question: Is the Filipino still worth fighting for?
Each time, I always get the same answer: Yes, the Filipino is worth fighting for,” Lacson said.
