Manila, Philippines – The five presidential candidates including Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and labor leader Leody de Guzman should “cross party lines and forge a united opposition” against the Marcos-Duterte tandem in the 2022 national elections, the militant fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) appealed on Friday. The group’s statement came after VP Robredo has filed her candidacy for president yesterday.
In a statement aired to media outfits, the fishers’ group asked the camps of Robredo, Pacquiao, Lacson, Moreno, and de Guzman to “heed the collective clamor of the Filipinos for a united opposition that will end the Duterte reign and thwart the return of the Marcoses to Malacanang”.
“We strongly and urgently appeal to the five presidential aspirants to set aside partisan politics and focus their political energy and resources to frustrate the sinister plot of Duterte and his political gangland to hold over the presidency in whatever form. Forge a political unity against the Duterte-Marcos tandem once and for all,” Ronnel Arambulo, PAMALAKAYA Spokesperson said in a statement.
PAMALAKAYA added that “the same political call applies to vice-presidential and senatorial candidates”.
“All the political forces opposed to the Duterte-Marcos collaboration could commit themselves to a broad united formation that includes people’s organizations, human rights advocates, anti-fraud electoral watchdogs, independent institutions, and well-respected individuals,” Arambulo added.
“These five presidentiables are politically and morally obliged to join the mass movement and prepare for an intensified battle in the streets that will shape an honest, orderly, peaceful, and clean elections. Moreover, it is every Filipino’s electoral duty to ensure that neither a Duterte nor a Marcos will win the highest post in the next presidential race,” ended Arambulo. ###