Lacson-Sotto: the tandem to beat in the 2022 elections

June 24, 2021 05:45 PM

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III told reporters last Monday that the possible presidential candidates for the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) might be Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao.

“[It] is a possibility, but I cannot speak for my entire party at this point when it comes to a presidential candidate." 

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who has announced he is running for vice president in 2022, said that his fellow lawmakers, namely Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao are among the likely candidates for the presidency in the upcoming elections. 

Sotto, who is the acting chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), said, “[It] is a possibility, but I cannot speak for my entire party at this point when it comes to a presidential candidate." 

Eyeing the vice-presidential post, Sotto affirmed that he will be Lacson's running mate, now that the latter has decided to run for president. 

Sotto said, “I can get the support from the majority of them, but I cannot dictate my party mates on who they should support [for president], so consultation pa rin yan (so we would still have to undergo consultation)."

“I would suppose that if I would run for any political position, I would get the support of my entire political party,” he added.


Pacquiao in NPC? 
The NPC, meanwhile, might also adopt Pacquiao as a possible candidate, according to the Sotto. 

“Anything is possible at this point,” said the Senate chief, “but if you ask me about Sen Pacquiao—ako naman, wala naman akong planong makihalo sa problema ng ibang political parties (I personally don't intend to meddle in the problems of other political parties)—but I suppose based on my conversation with some other political friends from the PDP-Laban, a big majority of the PDP-Laban members are supportive of Sen. Pacquiao." 

Pacquiao is the incumbent president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), however, he has not yet confirmed any news about his intentions on running in the 2022 elections. 

Sotto shared that a number of people have already expressed their support for Pacquiao. 

“...I am told that a big majority supports Manny Pacquiao. I even heard friends from Cebu and political friends from Cebu that are telling me they are going to support him," the Senate leader concluded.

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Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III 18th Congress of the Philippines Senate of the Philippines 2022 elections NPC Nationalist People’s Coalition Panfilo Lacson Manny Pacquiao Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan PDP-Laban