Sen. Manny Pacquiao may run as an “independent” candidate in the 2022 Election and not under his party if there is a crisis due to tensions within their party.
The two different leaderships of PDP-Laban filed separate Sworn Information Update Statements this month.
Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance, which are required to run for the party, cannot be filed by a faction that will not be approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“Ready po siya. Ganiyan po katibay ang prinsipyo ni Sen. Manny Pacquiao,” said PDP-Laban Pacquiao wing executive director Ron Munsayac, Monday.
Pacquiao is rumored to have plans to run for the presidency in 2022. However, they have not yet announced his final decision.
The party’s Cusi wing first removed Pacquiao as party president. Instead, their faction is endorsing Sen Bong Go for the presidency in 2022 as they want to make President Rodrigo Duterte vice president.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III was appointed chairperson of the Pacquiao wing, while they “ousted” Duterte from the same position.
Pacquiao ready to run independently in 2022
“So, sinasabi niya [Pacquiao] po sa amin, kay Sen. Pimentel at sa ibang leaders ng partido namin na, ‘Ron, Koko, I will not leave PDP-Laban. Ipaglaban natin ito kasi sa mga miyembro ito eh, ipaglaban natin ito,” Munsayac added.
“Napamahal na po siya sa prinsipyo, ideolohiya at sa nakita niya po ‘yung suporta ng mga miyembro namin sa kanya so he will not leave the PDP-Laban no matter what the consequences are.”
Despite the Cusi wing’s endorsement of Go, the senator refuses to run for him as president next year.
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence of the members of the NEC (National Executive Commission) in my capability to run for the presidency this coming 2022 elections. For a simple man who hails from a city in the South, the endorsement alone by esteemed members and officers of the NEC is a great personal honor for me,” Go said in a letter addressed to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
The Comelec en banc is expected to decide on two different PDP-Laban SIUS before filing candidacy in October.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.