Goodbye Kiko
JUST mere 37 days before the 2022 national elections, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has tacitly abandoned all hope of winning the vice presidential race after acquiescing to an alternative pairing that would destroy his campaign.
The Liberal Party (LP) bet issued a statement recently explaining why he had to skip the Borongan, Eastern Samar sortie with his running-mate Leni Robredo.
His close supporters and political backers were left confused by Pangilinan’s statement, pointing to a seismic shift in his conviction to pursue the 2nd highest post in the land.
“In order to ensure that the local political leaders came out in full force to show public support for her bid, I agreed not to attend. In certain localities, to borrow the term, for Leni to increase, I must decrease,” Pangilinan said in a somber-toned statement.
Some political pundits speculate that Pangilinan’s change of heart resulted from his continued dismal showing in pre-election surveys and rumored funding problems which are crucial to mounting a successful election campaign.
Pangilinan is the latest collateral damage among the vice-presidential hopefuls, this after presidential candidate Isko Moreno previously ditched his running-mate Doc. Willie Ong in his forays in Mindanao.
Pangilinan did not attend the beach event on Baybay Boulevard, where 19 Eastern Samar mayors, together with Gov. Ben Evardone and Rep. Maria Fe Abunda, signed a covenant in support of Robredo.
As if to add insult to injury, Robredo said she would stick with Pangilinan but remained unbothered by the alternative tandems being pushed by people very close to her.
Pangilinan’s close friends and supporters can only watch in horror as his prospects fade due to Robredo’s ‘winning at all cost’ political strategy that bungled both their candidacies.
Among the strongest proponents of the alternative tandem Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, and Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco.
Political observers also said that the political jockeying among candidates this close to the conduct of the polls, while commonplace, is more focused on upending the presidential frontrunner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. and his running-mate Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte.
