In an apparent attack on Vice President Leni Robredo, presidential candidate Norberto Gonzales said there should be a different "number two" to defeat election frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for the presidency.
Without mentioning Robredo, Gonzales claimed that she could not surpass Marcos Jr. in the pre-election polls because the electorate do not like her.
"Ayaw ng taumbayan natin itong number two ang lumaban sa number one," Gonzales said in a joint press conference with other presidential candidates.
(The public does not like this number to go against number one.)
According to Gonzales, Robredo should be replaced in order to defeat the election frontrunner.
"Kung gusto po nating talunin yung number one, baka dapat po palitan natin 'yung player sa number two," he said.
(If we want to defeat number one, maybe we need to replace player number two.)
"Tignan natin 'yung [player] three, four, five, six. Baka nandoon ang pwedeng lumaban sa number one na hinahanap ng taongbayan natin."
(Let us look at players three, four, five, six. Maybe among them is the person who could go against number one sought by the public.)
"Kitang-kita na po natin ang signal ng taongbayan, para pong ayaw nila 'yung number two ngayon na siyang lumaban sa number one," he added.
(We can clearly see the signal from the public. It seems like they do not like the number two to go against the number.)
Gonzales, in referring to other presidential candidates, used the pre-election surveys, where Marcos Jr. leads and followed by Robredo in the second spot.
On Pulse Asia's latest pre-election polls, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno placed third, followed by Senator Manny Pacquiao in fourth place, and then-Senator Panfilo Lacson in the fifth slot.
