Senator Ping Lacson: “I came sincere and prepared; the other party was not.”
On Monday, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson maintained that there’s a “hidden agenda” behind the failed unification talks with Vice President Leni Robredo.
Lacson, who is running for president in the 2022 elections, claimed in a tweet that he came “sincere and prepared” while “the other party” was not.
“In hindsight, the unification talks would have been concluded by now had it started with the right intentions and without the hidden agenda of the one who initiated it,” the senator said in a tweet. “I came sincere and prepared; the other party was not. Thus, it was doomed from the start.”
In hindsight, the unification talks would have been concluded by now had it started with the right intentions and without the hidden agenda of the one who initiated it. I came sincere and prepared; the other party was not. Thus, it was doomed from the start.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) April 18, 2022
Lacson’s tweet came after he, along with fellow presidential candidates former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, held a press conference on Sunday at the Manila Peninsula Hotel to maintain they would finish the presidential race, amidst calls for them to withdraw and unite Robredo.
In the said conference, the senator recalled how the Vice President approached him for unification talks to field an opposition candidate before formal candidacies were filed in October 2021.
READ ALSO: Leni Robredo Gives Statement after Isko Moreno Called her to Withdraw
Lacson said that he was attracted at first with Robredo’s concept of a unified candidate, even offering a “framework” wherein she would have to withdraw from the presidential race if her pre-election survey numbers were low.
The senator also proposed that he and the Vice President field a common vice-presidential candidate: Senate President Vicente Sotto III. However, Robredo supposedly rejected Lacson’s proposal.
“Kung tinanggap niya ‘yong first offer ko, baka wala ako ngayon. But then, she rejected it,” Lacson said.
The Vice President explained in her weekly radio show on August 2021 that she rejected Lacson’s proposed “unification formula” because she didn’t want to “lead on” supporters.
Thank you for visiting Newspapers.ph. You may express your reactions or thoughts in the comments section. Also, you may follow us on Facebook as well.
