Pacquiao ‘welcome’ to be 1Sambayan’s presidential bet

Sen. Manny Pacquiao is likely to be the presidential candidate in the 2022 elections of 1Sambayan.

Fr Albert Alejo, one of the convenors of the coalition, said that if Pacquiao has friends who will nominate 1Sambayan, they are welcome.

If anyone nominates the senator, he will be asked if he is ready to undergo the selection process of 1Sambayan. If Pacquiao agrees, he will then be interviewed and screened according to the criteria of their group.

The group had previously closed its doors to the possibility of the legislator being nominated for the presidency or vice presidency.

It will be recalled that even retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said that Pacquiao lacks ability because he is always absent from congress and cannot be considered for the 2022 national elections because he is also an ally of the Duterte administration.

But the tone of the opposition coalition changed after Pacquiao opposed Duterte while there was a strong rumor that the senator will be ousted from the ruling party PDP-Laban.

Last month, the 1Sambayan coalition respected the rejection of some of their nominees in the 2022 elections.

Among those who earlier refused were Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Grace Poe, and Sen. Nancy Binay, who was invited by 1Sambayan to be “nominees” as the standard-bearer of the opposition in 2022.

Pacquiao ‘welcome’ to be 1Sambayan’s presidential bet

“I think what is clear is everything is fluid and open, when you say you are not interested or when you say there’s no plans. But of course, all of these can change tomorrow or next week,” said 1Sambayan co-convenor Howard Calleja.

However, they hope it is still possible to change.

Among the “nominees” of 1Sambayan that were made public on Saturday are the following:

Robredo
Poe
Ex-Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV
Santos-Recto
CIBAC party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva
Human Rights lawyer Chel Diokno