Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao said Friday, April 8 that representatives from the camp of his rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, supposedly approached him to discuss a possible unification of forces among the presidential bets.
Pacquiao disclosed thus, as he confirmed what aspiring vice president and Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza bared in a media forum on the same day.
“Naghahanap din kasi sila ng parang (They’re considering a) reshuffling eh,” Atienza told reporters during the Pandesal Forum.
Pacquiao said individuals who are supposedly representatives of Robredo approached him to convince him to withdraw from the Palace race.
But he said that he rejected the proposal as his move to join the race was prompted by their commitment to give Filipinos a “God-fearing” and “corruption-free” government.
“Ang desisyon kasi namin ni vice Lito ay tuloy ang laban at para ito sa bayan. Hindi ito para sa sarili namin. Kasi kung iniisip namin ay para sa sarili namin ay makikipag-compromise kami (Me and vice Lito decided to continue the fight as it is for the country. This is not only for ourselves. Because if we only think of ourselves, we will compromise),” he told reporters during his campaign rally in Batangas.
In a recent press conference, Pacquiao bared there were people asking for his withdrawal for a possible unification. However, he did not mention names and or confirm if those people officially came from a certain camp.
On the other hand, the lawmaker said he remains open to a Pacquiao-Tito Sotto tandem. Sotto, the Senate President, is vying for the vice presidency.
Atienza, Pacquiao's running mate, has said that he is open to backing out from the polls.