Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III have decided to postpone the formal announcement of their candidacies for presidency and vice presidency in the 2022 elections.
Sotto said they considered the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and the emergence of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
"Sen. Lacson and I have agreed to reschedule the launch event to a later date due to the new developments on the Covid 19 Delta variant in the country," the Senate chief told reporters in a message.
"While we are dealing with a possible nationwide surge in the infection rate, we thought we thought it best to focus more on attending to our people’s health concerns and priorities than any other non-health related activities,"
"It is a purely sensitivity issue, even considering that the event will be virtually presented," Sotto explained.
Lacson and Sotto, who have already confirmed their plan to run in tandem for next year's elections, were supposed to launch their candidacy on August 4.
Lacson will run for president, while Sotto will seek vice presidency. The two have also been firming up their tandem's senatorial slate for 2022.
In the wake of the surge of Delta variant infections, the government will again be imposing the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila. It is the strictest of the four quarantine classifications of the administration.
Sotto said they are looking at moving their announcement to September 8.
"We will make the proper announcement on the new launch event date which will be most probably right after the ECQ," he said.