In a somewhat annoyed tone, Vice President Leni Robredo said she would no longer respond to Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso's potshots at her.
"Ako alam mo...nagpapaka-gentleman na lang ako ha. Ayoko nang pumatol (You know...I just want to be a gentleman. I don't want to respond anymore)," Robredo said in a press conference Friday, Oct. 15 at the Quezon City Reception House.
"Kasi mas malaki yung mga problema natin. Tingin ko wala naman tong papapuntahan (Because we ha remember bigger problems at hand. I think this will go nowhere)," added the opposition leader.
Robredo, 56, and Domagoso, 46, are both vying for the presidency in the upcoming May 2022 national elections.
In the press conference, Robredo was asked to comment on Domagoso's continued criticisms of her, which conspicuously began after the lady official filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) last Oct. 7.
The Manila mayor's tirades have included questioning Robredo's motivation for running for the presidency (one of which is to purposely prevent the Marcoses from returning to Malacañang), and choosing pink as her poltical color.
"Gaya ng sabi ko, hindi lang kay Mayor Isko, ang dami kong nilapitan para maghanap ng avenue para magkaisa (Like I said, I approached a lot of people in other to find an avenue for unity)," Robredo said, referring to the unity talks that she pursued until the moment she decided to run for the Palace seat herself.
"Gaya nga yung sinabi ni Senator Kiko , klaro naman yung kalaban natin dito. Kaya nga ako naghahanap ng pagkakaisa kasi gusto natin na focused tayo sa tunay na kalaban (Like what Senator Kiko Pangilinan said, it's clear who our enemy is. The reason why I pursued unity was because I wanted us to be focused on out true enemy)," she said, referring to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
"Kaya hindi na lang ako papatol (That's why I'll no longer respond to him)," Robredo said.
Pangilinan is Robredo's running mate in the polls.