MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who is running for president in this year's elections, said he is not backing out after vice presidential bet Rep. Jose "Lito" Atienza urged the lawmaker to withdraw his candidacy.
Atienza earlier said he is "very seriously" thinking of backing out from the vice presidential race and hopes Lacson will do the same, which he believes will have a huge impact on the chances of the "UniTeam" tandem of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
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The Buhay party-list representative made the call a week after Lacson resigned from his former political party Partido Reporma after receiving word that its slate in Davao del Norte is endorsing another bet- which was later announced to be Robredo.
Vice Presidential candidate Lito Atienza says he is seriously considering backing out of and pushing for Senator Tito Sotto to tandem with Sen. @MannyPacquiao. However, he is also calling for Sen. Ping Lacson to withdraw from the presidential race. @News5PH @onenewsph pic.twitter.com/k6qjgbGP5N
— Mon Gualvez (@mongualvez) March 31, 2022
"For the nth time, I will finish this race and I am not backing out. I reject the call of Rep. Jose Atienza for me to withdraw from the presidential race," Lacson said in a statement Thursday.
What Atienza did was uncalled for, according to Lacson, who added he should "go back to school and study good manners and the right conduct."
Atienza also called for a tandem between his running mate Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao and Senate President "Tito" Sotto III, who is running alongside Lacson.
Asked about what he thought about Sotto possibly teaming up with Pacquiao, Lacson in a press con on Thursday answered: "If someone adopts him as their vice presidential candidate, so be it. I welcome it because I know where he stands. I know where I stand."
"We will finish the race," he added.
Lacson is trailing behind in pre-election polls. According to Pulse Asia Research's latest voter's preference survey posted on March 14, Lacson got two percent- less than the four percent which he previously got.
The senator, however, remains undeterred. "I reiterate that we should not waste our votes on "survey politics" - we should choose a leader who is the most qualified and competent, not the one dictated by surveys," he said in his statement.
"Instead of thinking we will waste our votes on those who are qualified but not leading in the surveys, we should remember that it would be a bigger waste if we select the wrong leader who turns out to be less competent," he added.
Lacson is now running as an independent candidate.