In the aftermath of the disastrous joint press conference on Easter Sunday where Manila Mayor Isko Moreno asked Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw, two big support groups—the Aksyon Demokratiko-Youth and the Isko Tayo Kabataan—shifted their allegiance and expressed support to the Vice President.
In a statement, the groups called Moreno’s campaign “sinking ship,” and said they decided to switch to Robredo after the Manila mayor’s “uncalled for decision to ask for Robredo’s withdrawal” from the presidential race.
“Moreno’s recent actions reinforced our position that among the different camps, VP Leni is the only candidate with the integrity, exposure and expertise to effectively handle the most difficult job in the government in this most challenging time of our history,” a joint statement from the two groups said.
Moreno called on Robredo to withdraw during a joint press conference last Easter Sunday with presidential bets Senator Panfilo Lacson and former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales, as well as vice-presidential candidates Dr. Willie Ong and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
Gonzales has since apologized to Robredo for the Easter presser while Lacson denied that the agenda was to call for her withdrawal. Sotto and Ong also disagreed with Moreno’s stand.
But the Manila mayor made no apology, and repeatedly asked Robredo to back out in recent interviews. He also called her a “godmother of bullies” and “bilib na bilib sa sarili (admires one’s self too much)," along with attacking her character and even her choice of campaign color.
This happened after two big support groups—the IM Pilipinas Visayas Chapter and IM Pilipinas lead convenor former Transportation Undersecretary Tim Orbos—deflected to Robredo after noting her survey numbers improving against frontrunner former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
READ: Robredo gets support of Isko Moreno's Cebu volunteers
Orbos himself apologized for triggering the departure of many volunteer groups from Moreno’s camp.
“We, ourselves, had been the subject of false accusations and ridicule. To those whom we have hurt, our sincere apologies. To those who have hurt us, all is forgiven and forgotten. Let us move on, for we have more urgent matters at hand,” he said.
Elmer Argano, lead convenor of the IMK Leni-IM Pilipinas coalition, argued that they did not ransack the mayor’s supporters because the members who decided to shift their allegiance to Robredo did so voluntarily.
“No one can accuse us off raiding the ranks of Isko’s supporters because these groups who have decided to heed our call to rally behind the Vice President came to us voluntarily and spontaneously,” he said.
Earlier, four Aksyon Demokratiko candidates for councilor in Quezon City—re-electionist Dante de Guzman, broadcaster Gani Oro, actress Melissa Mendez, and April Francisco—were the first to jump ship when they declared their support for Robredo.
A host of Aksyon Demokratiko bets from the provinces also joined the long list of deflectors, including several groups of Muslim Imams and youth scholars from the Zamboanga, Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi areas.