PRESIDENTIAL aspirants former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Sunday, April 17, 2022, hit their fellow candidate Vice President Leni Robredo who they claim were behind calls for their withdrawal from the race.In a joint press conference at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, Gonzales, Domagoso and Lacson all vowed not to drop their candidacies.Presidential aspirant Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao was also supposed to attend the press conference but did not make it on time from his trip to his hometown.Former Palace spokesperson Ernesto Abella also earlier committed his attendance, according to Gonzales, but he did not attend.In a joint statement, the four aspirants also vowed to support the government of whoever, among them, will win the presidency, as well as to protect the cleanliness and honesty of the upcoming national elections.Call for withdrawalThe candidates revealed they were approached by “dilawans” and “pinklawans” asking them to withdraw and shift support to Robredo.He said they were even offered to get paid in exchange for dropping their presidential bid.Dilawans is the term used to refer to the opposition or the members and supporters of the Liberal Party of the Philippines while the Pinklawans refer to the supporters of Robredo who is the chairman of the said party but is running as an independent candidate.Lacson said there are attempts to subvert the election process through defection of some groups for a certain bet, particularly Robredo.“Pare-pareho ang experience namin. Kaming dalawa ni Mayor Isko, actually, bukod pa doon sa kinakausap, gusto pa kaming hubaran. They were trying to strip us of our supporters, ‘yung mga support group,” Lacson said.(Our experiences are the same. Mayor Isko and I, actually, in addition to others who were talked into, wanted to strip us. They were trying to strip us of our supporters, those support groups.)Lacson recently resigned from Partido Reporma, which later shifted support to Robredo.He recalled his earlier claims that he met with Robredo even before the filing of certificate of candidacies where he was asked to rally behind her.Lacson said the latest attempt to make him withdraw was through former Quezon City Mayor Brigido “Jun” Simon Jr.He said Simon told him that if he withdrew, they would drop Robredo’s runningmate, Senator Francis Pangilinan and shift support to Lacson’s tandem, Senate President Vicente Sotto III.Moreno said he also met with Robredo in 2021 and she informed him repeatedly that he will not run for president.He said they were treated like “garbage” by Robredo’s camp amid attempts to negotiate to withdraw and support her instead.“I was fooled also in the face by the Vice President. She said she will not run as president. We made to believe to unite but we were fooled literally in our face,” he said.“That kind of person cannot be trusted,” Moreno added.A chapter of the volunteer group Ikaw Muna Pilipinas, which initially supported the candidacy of Moreno, also recently shifted to endorsing Robredo.‘Withdraw Leni’Among the three candidates, Moreno and Gonzales were the most vocal in criticizing Robredo and urging her to withdraw from the race.Moreno said it should be Robredo who should offer the “supreme sacrifice and be a hero” and back out.“Be a hero. Withdraw, Leni,” he said, adding that her camp was the most persistent in calling for him and other candidates’ withdrawal.Gonzales said it may seem that Filipinos opt to rally behind presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. based on the recent presidential survey because they do not like Robredo who is currently on the second rank.“Kung gusto nating talunin ang number one (sa survey), dapat palitan ang player sa number two. Napakalayo ng diperensya. Isa lang ang ibig sabihin niyan, ayaw ng taumbayan na ang ating number two ay lumaban sa sa ating number one,” he said.(If we want to beat the person who is number one (in the survey), we must replace the player with number two. The difference is very far. That only means one thing, the people don’t want our number two to fight with our number one.)“Kung ako masusunod, dapat isantabi ‘yung number two at tingnan ‘yung three, four, five, six na pwedeng lumaban sa number one,” he added, referring to the other presidential candidates.(If it were up to me, people should put aside the number two and look at the three, four, five, six that can fight the number one.)However, Lacson maintained that the press conference was not “anti-Leni” but to remind the Filipino people that they have plenty of choices for the upcoming polls.“This press conference is not just about Leni Robredo. It’s also about Bongbong Marcos. I cannot yet figure out that more than 50 percent of Filipinos are Marcos loyalists,” he said.“Hopefully, after this press conference, more people will be enlightened that there are other choices (for president) and not just two,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)