Three presidential candidates vowed on Easter Sunday, April 17, that they will push through with their respective candidacies and campaigns until election day.

In a joint press conference held at the Manila Pensinula, presidential candidates Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales said they will not back out from the presidential race amid calls from supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo urging them to withdraw.

“Higit pa man sa resulta ng isang halalan, mas pinaiiral natin dapat ang kalayaan ng ating taumbayan na pumili ng kanilang magiging lider (Even more than the result of an election, we must enforce the freedom of our people to choose their future leader),” Domagoso reads a joint statement of several presidential candidates.

The joint statement had the unsigned name of Senator Manny Pacquiao, who was not at the press conference. But Domagoso said the former boxing champion agreed with the contents of the statement.

“Hinding hindi kami magbibitiw sa kampanya. Ang bawat isa sa amin ay magpapatuloy sa aming sariling kandidatura upang maging karapat-dapat na pagpilian ng sambayanang Pilipino (We will never resign from the campaign. Each of us will continue our own candidacy to be the worthy choice of the Filipino people),” he said.

The rival candidates also called for fair and orderly elections.

Domagoso said they will join forces to resist any attempt to distort the real decision of the people through actions that are ‘undesirable’ to the free choice of our countrymen.

Gonzales said all of them shared the same experience where they were asked to withdraw from the presidential race.

“Pareho po ang aming naranasan tungkol sa ginagawa ng isa nating katunggali na kami ay paatrasin sa pangangampanya (We have the same experience about what one of our opponents is doing to push to withdraw from campaigning),” he said.

“Kaya kami ay nagkasundo. Simple ang aming pinagkaisahan sa aming statement, wala pong aatras sa amin (So we talked. We simply agreed on our statement, no one will back out from us),” Lacson, meanwhile, added there were also attempts to subvert the election process through defection of some groups to a certain candidate.

Also present during the press conference were Lacson’s running mate, Senate Presidente Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and Domagoso’s running mate Doc Wille Ong.