MANILA: Four Philippine presidential candidates, including retired boxing star Manny Pacquiao, quelled speculation they were withdrawing from the race and said they remained alternative choices to frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Manila city mayor Francisco Domagoso, Senator Panfilo Lacson and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, in a joint press conference on Sunday, vowed to fight together “any attempt to subvert the true will of the people by pre-emptive maneuvers or otherwise limit their choices.”
“Each of us will continue with our respective presidential campaigns and strive to be worthy of choices from which our people will select,” they said in a joint statement.
Pacquiao, who was initially expected to join the press conference but did not show up, will also “never withdraw despite the black propaganda initiated by other candidates,” according to his spokesman.
All four are trailing in opinion polls in the run up to the May 9 election, while Marcos — the son and namesake of the country’s late dictator — has retained a clear lead, with Vice President Leni Robredo far behind in second place.
“There were many attempts to limit the electorate’s choices to two (Marcos and Robredo). That’s why we had to do this (joint press conference),” Lacson said, without identifying who was making such moves.
Domagoso went as far as calling on Robredo, the only female candidate, to make a “supreme sacrifice” and withdraw from the race, for them to beat Marcos.
“I’m calling for Leni to withdraw. Whatever you’re doing is not effective against the Marcoses,” said Domagoso, a former actor better known by his stage name “Isko Moreno.”
Lacson said he was not alone in getting feelers to withdraw from the race supposedly “in exchange for financial and other considerations.”
But Robredo’s camp rejected calls for her to withdraw.
“With three weeks to go before election day, we are at a time of great momentum for our people’s campaign,” her spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, said in a statement.
Four Philippine presidential candidates, including Pacquiao, won’t quit race
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Four Philippine presidential candidates, including Pacquiao, won’t quit race
- ‘Each of us will continue with our respective presidential campaigns and strive to be worthy of choices from which our people will select’
Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin’s home, Kyiv calls this ‘lie’
- Zelensky called Russia’s claim “complete fabrication” designed to derail peace process, suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify bombardment of Ukraine
KYIV: Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of President Vladimir Putin’s homes, an accusation that Ukraine called a “lie” aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired “91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” at Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.
“Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia’s negotiating position will be reconsidered,” Lavrov said, without elaborating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with US President Donald Trump on Sunday for talks on ending the war, called Russia’s claim “a complete fabrication” designed to derail the peace process and suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on X.
Russia’s accusation comes at a pivotal moment in the peace process.
Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan — including the issue of post-war security guarantees — though the issue of territory in a post-war settlement remains unresolved.
Russia, which has stayed silent about what parts of the US plan it has agreed to, said Monday it was still committed to the peace process but would “revise” its position in light of the alleged drone attack.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special military operation” to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.
Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.
Territory main sticking point
Trump has held talks with both sides in recent days, including a phone call with Putin on Monday that the White House described as “positive.”
During talks with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump offered Kyiv long-sought-after security guarantees for a period of 15 years, according to Kyiv.
But the issue of territory and the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unresolved, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv was ready for “any” format of meetings — including with Putin if necessary — but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace.
The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarised area.
But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise.
Putin said Monday that Russia was pressing ahead with its plan to capture four Ukrainian regions it announced the annexation of in 2022 and that his troops were “confidently advancing.”
Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
