Vice President Leni Robredo is still looking at the possibility of running in the 2022 presidential elections, but the goal of uniting the opposition comes first, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.
Drilon, vice chairman of the opposition Liberal Party, disagreed with former Senator Antonio Trillanes’ statement that Robredo should not have talked to Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the first to confirm a presidential bid, and Senator Richard Gordon, who’s also considering running for president.
“At this point, the Vice President is still looking at a possible presidential run next year. But the first objective is to make sure that an opposition candidate wins. Therefore, step one is to unite everybody,” Drilon said in an online media interview on Tuesday.
“If she becomes the most viable candidate, she will ask the others to come around and support her because the objective is to have a united front. So, the assessment that she has given up is totally wrong and baseless,” he added.
In an open letter to fellow members of the opposition on Monday, Trillanes said Robredo should not give way to other candidates and that she does not need Lacson and Gordon, whom he called “collaborators” of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Trillanes recalled that Lacson chaired committee hearings on staunch Duterte critic and detained Senator Leila de Lima and worked on the passage of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act, while Gordon maintained there were no state-sanctioned killings after months of legislative hearings in 2016.
The incumbent senators have said they are not pro-administration and have actually made criticisms against the President.
“Madi-dilute lang ang message of CHANGE ng opposition, which is our biggest campaign weapon in 2022. As regards conducting exploratory talks, hindi kami purists pero let us not sacrifice naman our core principles at the altar of ‘winnability,’” Trillanes said in the letter.
Drilon, for his part, said his colleagues in the Senate “have done their share in maintaining their principles.”
“That is why we will present ourselves to the people and the people will judge each candidacy. At this stage, I don’t think we should already exclude certain politicians and not pursue a united ticket,” the veteran lawmaker said.
The LP earlier said it would also reach out to Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senators Nancy Binay and Joel Villanueva to forge the “broadest unity” against the administration in 2022.
Drilon also said the Vice President’s low survey ratings is not a cause for concern, considering that she won in the 2016 elections despite being at the tail end of early surveys.
“She decided to run for vice president with one percent and she beat Bongbong Marcos. Today, she has anywhere from 6 to 8 percent. She has a better chance today than she had in 2016,” Drilon said.
“It is a question of her being able to decide as soon as possible,” he added.
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