Lacson invited for a dialogue with NPC after filing of COC in October —Sotto

Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) officials have invited Senator Panfilo Lacson for a dialogue after the filing of certificates of candidacy in October, NPC chairman and Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday.

“They (NPC officials) want to invite Ping to a dialogue before October when many of our party mates are here in [the National Capital Region],” Sotto said in a text message to reporters.

This was confirmed by Lacson shortly after he took his oath

“[Senate President] Sotto had informed me yesterday that the NPC party officials are open to a dialogue with me after we have both filed our certificates of candidacy in October,” he said.

“That being said, we are open to alliances with other political parties who may be willing to work with us for change for the betterment of our country and people,” he added.

Lacson admitted that his bid will be a “great challenge” but he maintained that he is "ready and prepared."

“While I have mixed feelings kung ano ba itong pinasukan ko - I am ready and prepared, along with SP to face the many challenges, including the looming ones that we haven't discussed yet but I have full knowledge of - like a most likely power shortage middle of next year, the depressing 'educational crisis' confronting our young  generation of Filipinos to name some,” he said.

On Wednesday evening, Sotto disclosed that NPC members had given him their consent to run for vice president in the upcoming 2022 elections. He added that alliances will be discussed by the NPC in its future meeting.

Last week, Lacson confirmed that he and Sotto would run for president and vice president respectively.

According to the latest Pulse Asia survey, 4% of Filipino said they would vote Lacson for president while 10% of Filipinos said they would vote for Sotto.

In his latest State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte vouched for Sotto, saying the latter can become a good vice president. Malacañang, however, said the remark is not an endorsement of Sotto. --KBK, GMA News