Lakas to wage clean campaign
No ‘placeholders’
DEPUTY Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr. on Tuesday said the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) is open to other possible presidential bets, including Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and it is prepared to wage a serious and clean campaign for its presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2022 polls.
Pichay said the party that produced two chief executives, namely former Presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, will mobilize the entire machinery of Lakas-CMD— from the national level down to governors, congressmen, mayors and councilors— to support the presidential bid of Anna Capella Velasco, the executive director of Lakas-CMD, and vice-presidential aspirant Lyle Fernando Uy.
“The party has to have candidates so we filed the COC (certificate of candidacy) for president and vice-president and the party is capable of waging a national campaign,” Pichay, secretary-general of the Lakas-CMD, told Karen Davila’s Headstart over ANC News Channel. “She (Velasco) was the one who was very much willing to run for president.”
But he admitted that Lakas-CMD is open to other presidential candidates, including Mayor Sara by virtue of substitution.
But Pichay denied that their candidates for the country’s two top posts are mere “placeholders” until November 15 or the last day for substitution for aspirants set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“No I did not say that (placeholders). I said we have a presidential candidate but we can still negotiate with other presidential candidates. In effect, I am saying we put up a candidate but if there are other candidates whose ratings are high then we can consider them,” Pichay explained.
“Actually the question was if Sara will run for president, will you consider her as the standard-bearer, what I said yes, yes. I never mentioned anything about placeholders,” Pichay said.
