Vice Presidential candidate Dr. Willie Ong said he disagrees with his running mate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's call for Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw from the presidential race over the weekend.
"Dapat ba siya mag-withdraw, (si) VP Leni? Siyempre, ako, hindi. Go siya. Sa akin, go kayo lahat. Go kayo lahat. Walang magpipigil," Ong said in a live stream on his official Facebook page.
Ong made the statement after joining the controversial Easter press conference of Moreno and other presidential hopefuls such as Senator Ping Lacson and former defense secretary Norberto Gonzales.
In the same presser, Moreno called on Robredo to make the 'supreme sacrifice' of withdrawing her presidential bid.
Ong, for his part, clarified that he was not part of the original program and was only invited to attend the press conference a day before the event.
He also noted that he joined the program to reiterate that he will not back out as a vice-presidential candidate.
"Ang pagkakaalam ko lang ang sabi nila: unity. Ibig sabihin, lahat tuloy-tuloy kasi meron nga silang naririnig, nababasa na withdraw si Isko, withdraw si Sen. Ping, withdraw si Manny, meron din sa amin mga ganung issue,” he said.
"Gusto ko lang sabihin na hindi ako mag-wiwithdraw. Saka kami ni Tito Sen, wala kaming usapan na aatras kami. Wala. Todo straight ako. Todo straight siya,” he added.
Further distancing himself from his running mate’s remarks, Ong also lauded Robredo’s intelligence, as well as her stances on most social issues.
Lacson, Sotto, and Gonzales earlier distanced themselves from the issue.
Gonzales even apologized to Robredo for the turnout of the event.
