Pacquiao does not support call for Robredo withdrawal from Eleksyon 2022 —campaign manager

Presidential candidate and incumbent senator Manny Pacquiao does not support fellow presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's call for Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw from running for the top post in Eleksyon 2022, his campaign manager said on Tuesday. 

Buddy Zamora, Pacquiao's campaign manager, said the former boxing world champion believes the choice is "up to the people."

"No, he does not [support the call for Robredo to withdraw]... Senator Pacquiao believes that the choice is up to the people and since everybody filed the candidacy for presidency, he’d want the choice to be really coming from the people, not from any calls for others to withdraw," Zamora said in an interview on ANC.

On Easter Sunday, Moreno and fellow presidential bets Senator Panfilo Lacson and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales held a press conference in Makati City, which was also joined by vice presidential candidates Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Dr. Willie Ong, to announce that they would not back out from the presidential race.

Pacquiao, who the candidates said supported the same stand of not backing out from the race, was not able to attend the press conference as he was en route on a flight from General Santos City to Manila at the time.

It was also during the press conference when Moreno asked Robredo to withdraw from the presidential race.

Zamora said he was relieved that Pacquiao was not able to attend the said press conference.

"Yes I was, I was kind of relieved na... I think the choice was, we call it divine intervention that he was not able to make it," he said.

Zamora said it was Lacson who invited Pacquiao to the press conference and the latter already had the intent of joining, but unfortunately did not make it on time.

"The decision of Senator Pacquiao was made in GenSan and without our prior knowledge," he said.

Zamora said Pacquiao was informed the agenda of the presser would be "unity" and that each candidate would declare that they will not withdraw from the race.

But for Zamora, calls for unity from other presidential candidates was a "vague notion."

The press conference had received criticisms of "machismo," specifically from "Ikaw Muna Pilipinas."

IM Pilipinas initially supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, but recently switched to Robredo.

Pacquiao's running mate House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza had also expressed his dismay over the joint press conference, claiming it would only benefit former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Atienza lauded Pacquiao for skipping the media forum which he described as “unfair” and “anti-Leni”  or against Robredo.

However, Zamora said he "would not go that far" as to tag Moreno, Lacson and Gonzales as the "greatest allies of Marcos" for the 2022 elections. —KG, GMA News