After throwing verbal punches at each other, President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Manny Pacquiao seems to have patched things up.
The camp of Senator Manny Pacquiao disclosed the two government officials met in Malacañang on Nov. 9, Tuesday night.
“It is a meeting between national leaders who discussed certain matters related to people’s interest and Mindanao development,” Pacquiao’s camp said in a statement.
They said Pacquiao’s meeting with Duterte centered on “infrastructure and power industry.”
Asked about the meeting, vice presidential aspirant Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go confirmed both Pacquiao and Duterte met in Malacanang.
“(It was a) very quick meeting requested by the camp of Sen. Pacquiao. Kamustahan lang. Maikli na usapan. Renewal of friendship. Walang politika. Important nagkausap sila ni PRRD (Duterte’s initials) (No politics. What’s important is he and PRRD got to talk),” Go said in a message to reporters.
“Kami naman ni Manny, kaibigan naman kami and (mag) kumpare (Manny and I are friends),” added Go, who is running for vice president in the upcoming May 2022 national elections under the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban), backed by the camp of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque would later confirm the Duterte-Pacquiao meeting in a separate statement Wednesday night. He echoed details shares by Go, adding that the meeting was "short and cordial".
"There was no talk of politics but a renewal of friendship. More importantly, it was a meeting between two national leaders from Mindanao," Roque said.
Pacquiao is seeking the presidency in next year’s polls also under the PDP-Laban but backed by the camp of Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
The boxing icon turned politician used to be a strong political ally of the Duterte administration but their once strong political frienship was torn after Pacquao made comments about the corruption in the national government and scored the soft stance of the president on issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea.
Tensions flared when Pacquiao and Pimentel decided to form their own faction in the PDP-Laban and refused to acknowledge the camp of Cusi, which was backed by Duterte.
Cusi’s camp initially wanted Go and Duterte to run for president and vice president in the 2022 elections.
Pimentel, on the other hand, supported Pacquiao’s presidential bid.