Lacson after Duterte’s statement: We will run as if no one endorses us

CITY OF IMUS, Cavite — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said they will run their campaign regardless if there is an endorsement from political figures or even celebrities or none.

His statement came after President Rodrigo Duterte said he won’t endorse anyone in the upcoming 2022 national and local polls.

At a press conference before their proclamation rally, Lacson said Duterte has the prerogative in endorsing candidates in Eleksyon 2022.

“Prerogative niya ‘yon whether mag-endorse siya o hindi, nasa [sa] kanya ‘yon. Sariling desisyon, sariling pananaw niya ‘yon. Let’s leave it at that,” he said.

(That’s his prerogative whether he endorses a candidate or not. It is his personal decision and perspective. Let’s leave it at that.)

“Kami, we run as if walang nag-eendorse sa amin miski sino, walang celebrity,” he added.

(In our ticket, we run as if no one endorses us, even endorsements from celebrities.)

Lacson then said they will focus on educating the electorate.

He reiterated the need for Filipinos to shun thieves in the upcoming polls.

“Basta ang gagawin namin i-educate namin ang mga botante… Ang problema ang magnanakaw sa gobyerno, hindi sila namimili. Tayo ang namimili sa kanila. ‘Yun ang education na gusto naming iimpart sa ating mga kababayan,” he said.

(What we will do is we will educate the voters. The problem is the thieves in the government is not choosing their victims. We are the one who choose those who rob us. That is the education that we wanted to impart to our countrymen.)

“Kasi takot tayo sa magnanakaw pero tayo pa ang namimilil ng magnanakaw sa atin. Por diyos por santo ba’t naman tayo umabot sa ganyan?” he added.

(We are afraid of thieves but we are the ones who elect them. How did we reach this situation?)

On the other hand, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Duterte was letting the public choose its next leaders.

“The endorsement of President Duterte is gold, but since he has decided not to endorse anyone, hinahayaan niya. Hinahayaan niya ang taumbayan na magdesisyon (he is letting the public decide),” he said.

Sotto disclosed that the President already told him that he won’t endorse anyone in the upcoming polls prior to his public statement on Monday night.

“Sinabi niya hindi siya mag-eendorse, he told me personally on the phone,” he said.

On the eve of the start of the campaign period for national candidates and party-list groups, Duterte said he would not support any presidential candidate in Eleksyon 2022 unless he would see what he called “a compelling reason” to do so in the coming months.

“Almost all of the candidates in one way or the other, communicated to me na nakipag usap, nanghingi ng suporta,” said Duterte in his Talk to the People aired Monday night.

“I may in the end if I see that my advice, maybe endorsement, could help kung kailangan. But at this time, I  am saying that I'm not supporting anybody,” he added.

“Unless there is a compelling reason for me to change my mind I decide to support a candidate,” Duterte said.  

Lacson stated in the same interview that their campaign will be disciplined.

"Ayaw na namin maka-contribute sa problema sa health problems,” he said.

(We don't want to add up to our health problems.)

“We will run a very disciplined campaign… Du’n kami magsta-stand out. Nakita naman natin 'pag nag-caravan gulo-gulo, 'di na natin mabilang kung ilan yung nahawa doon,” he added.

(That is where we will stand out. We have already seen how these caravans work. It's chaotic. We don’t know how many people caught the virus in these caravans.)

Lacson said they will talk to ordinary Filipinos throughout their campaign so they can gather information about the problems being faced at the grassroots level. — RSJ/VBL, GMA News