Presidential aspirant Manila mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso called on opponent Vice President Leni Robredo to “be a hero” and withdraw from the race.
Domagoso made the call during a joint press conference at The Peninsula Manila in Makati City on Easter Sunday, alongside fellow presidential candidates Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales.
“If they’re calling for supreme sacrifice, ‘di ba the yellow pink is calling for supreme sacrifice [..] Eh ‘di ang pinaka supreme sacrifice if you’re not a good player to win then you pay the supreme sacrifice, you withdraw. Withdraw, be a hero,” Domagoso told Robredo.
He alleged that the Robredo campaign is “buying” their supporters as they cannot be convinced to withdraw from the presidential race.
“Sobra naman ang pambabastos sa amin, binibili yung mga tao ni Sen. Ping, binibili mga tao namin, hinuhubaran kami. Asan ba dun yung sinasabi na disente kayo? Parang kayo lang ang mapupunta sa langit (It’s too insulting to us, they are buying the people of Sen. Ping, they are buying our people, they are stripping us. Where is the decency that they are talking about? Like you are the only ones going to heaven),” Domagoso said.
He also claimed that the reason former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is consistently leading in the presidential surveys is that people hate both the “yellow” and “pink” camp, adding that a non-Marcos victory will be possible if Robredo withdraws.
“Gusto nyo bang hindi manalo si Marcos? Withdraw Leni, baka may isang manalo. Siya kasi yung busal eh (Do you want Marcos to lose? Withdraw Leni, maybe one of us will win against him. She is the hindrance),” he shared.
The presidential candidates reminded the electorate that there are other candidates aside from Marcos and Robredo from whom they can choose.
Meanwhile, Lacson distanced himself and his running mate Tito Sotto from Domagoso’s comments, clarifying that they are not calling for any contenders to withdraw from the race.
“Kaming dalawa ni Senate president, precisely sa presscon na ito, we’re not asking anybody to withdraw, ayaw din namin na mananawagan sila na mag-withdraw kami in the same manner. Sa amin, walang mag-withdraw dapat in the same manner na hindi kami mananawagan na may mag-withdraw (The Senate president and I, we are not calling for anybody to withdraw, for us, nobody should withdraw. We don’t want them to call on us to withdraw in the same manner that we are not calling for anyone to withdraw),” he said
This, following the various calls from within former Moreno volunteer groups to withdraw his presidential bid, in favor of a united front for Robredo.
