Lacson on Atienza sorry after quit call: Apology accepted

Presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson acknowledged the apology issued by vice presidential candidate and lawmaker Lito Atienza, who earlier asked him to withdraw from the May 2022 elections.

"In all humility, apology accepted," Lacson said on Twitter on Friday.

In a forum earlier in the day, Atienza said sorry to Lacson for issuing the call.

"He rejected the idea outright. In fact, he considered it an insult, and I apologize publicly," Atienza said.

On March 30, presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao said his running mate Atienza has sounded off quitting the vice presidential race but added he wanted Senate President Vicente Sotto III to take his place.

Sotto is Lacson's running mate.

Lacson had said he felt insulted by Atienza's proposal.

"That's kabastusan to say the least. For somebody like him, na mas matanda pa sa akin, na magsabing magba-back out ang isang kandidato without even consulting, that's insulting," Lacson had said.

Atienza said he made the remarks on Lacson's withdrawal to address a "national crisis" of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, possibly winning the presidency.

"To me this is a national crisis - where the most incompetent, the worst prepared, the most dishonest and the most issues leveled against him and he doesn't even want to answer - might win the presidency. That is a crisis to me," he said.—LDF, GMA News