Ex-Aksyon Demokratiko members 'disappointed' in Isko Moreno after press conference
MANILA, Philippines — Former members of the political party of presidential bet Isko Moreno castigated the presidential bet on Tuesday morning for holding a press conference to call on fellow candidate Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw.
In a statement sent to reporters, the former officials of Moreno's party said that the Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer "has already fallen far from what he thought he was" while his remarks were "uncalled for and even detrimental to their goal of uniting our people towards a clean and fair election."
"It was clear that Moreno saw the press conference as an opportunity to retaliate against initial calls by Robredo's supporters for him to withdraw... but the good mayor [should] be reminded that Robredo herself never made that appeal," the statement reads.
"Moreno's actions have gravely damaged the integrity of Aksyon Demokratiko as a political party [and] reinforce our position that among the different camps, Leni Robredo is the only candidate with the integrity, composure, and expertise to effectively handle the most difficult job in government."
This comes after Moreno and other male presidential candidates lagging behind in the surveys held a joint press conference to urge Leni Robredo, the only female candidate standing at second place, to withdraw.
In a particularly impassioned rant, it was Moreno who first urged the vice president — whom the former Aksyon members said has "the best chance of defeating the Marcoses and their elite cohorts" — to "make the ultimate sacrifice" and withdraw from the presidential race.
Other candidates present at the press conference have since distanced from this call, saying the initial point of the joint conference was to express their unity in finishing the race.
"Moreno is actually turning a blind eye not only to the current realities in our electoral arena but also the strategic importance of Robredo's presidential bid in our efforts to prevent the country's most notorious elites from returning to power," the statement issued Tuesday also reads.
"With his recent remarks, Moreno has made himself an accessory to the return of the kind of politics that he has been claiming to fight against. It seems that Moreno is unaware of his real enemy in this race."
Isko party decries 'rehash' of defection news
In response, Aksyon Demokratiko said it "took exception" to the statement, saying they "made it appear that they are newly-resigned from Aksyon and the reason was their being 'turned off' by the Easter Sunday press conference."
In a separate statement sent to reporters, Party Chairman Ernest Ramel pointed out that former Aksyon executive director Erdie de los Santos resigned from the party last April 2 and announced on social media account that he will be campaigning for Robredo.
Ramel said Olongapo City Councilor Kaye Anne Legaspi, former vice president for youth affairs, resigned from the party as early as March which she posted in his Facebook account.
Legaspi was supposedly in the news when she announced in a press conference in Quezon City that she is supporting Robredo for president and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for vice president.
"It is obvious that those behind the defection of five convenors of IM volunteer group are also behind the recruitment of the 3 youth members of Aksyon and other youth volunteers who do not speak for their former respective organizations and were gullible enough to fall for the political ploy," Ramel's statement reads. It does not offer proof for this assertion.
The Aksyon camp earlier said it was "unaffected" by its volunteers defecting to other candidates.
But Ramel went as far as issuing a statement to point out that he was surprised to see the names of other former Aksyon Demokratiko volunteers "since they do not know each other."
“I suspect there is a someone big behind this sinister ploy that makes it appear that more volunteers and party members are defecting to the camp of VP Leni. And we see no end to this diabolical machinations aimed at weakening the political party of Mayor Isko,” Ramel said. “Enough with the disinformation. Let’s put a stop to a rehash of defections which is already tantamount to fake news."
Gonzales: No intention to call for VP withdrawal at joint presser
In a separate interview aired over ANC, former defense secretary and fellow presidential candidate Norberto Gonzales took Sen. Panfilo Lacson's lead in attempting to distance himself from the event.
Despite not saying anything at the time and only clarifying it after the fact, Gonzales claimed there was no intention to ask VP Leni Robredo to withdraw her presidential candidacy in the presser.
"There was no agreement whatsoever to ask anyone to withdraw," he said, claiming that Moreno "may have been carried away" in the heat of the question and answer portion of the program.
At the joint press conference on Sunday, though, it was Gonzales who said: "The number 2 should be changed. Maybe number 2 can't defeat number 1."
"I was actually addressing the public. The distance between them is quite big. In a contest like this, of course you only look at 1 and 2. The other ones are lost. We're entering this particular period in the campaign," Gonzales explained on Tuesday.
This comes after Lacson also attempted to distance from the press conference a day before, claiming he did not know the Manila City Mayor would go that far.
“In fairness to Mayor Isko, he made it clear that the ‘withdraw call’ was only his own,” Lacson said in a series Viber messages send to reporters.
“I don’t think I was blindsided, or at least it was intentional on the part of Mayor Isko. I think he was carried away by his recollection that VP Robredo earlier asked him to do the ‘supreme sacrifice’ and withdraw,” he added.
— Franco Luna with a report from Kaycee Valmonte
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