Sen. Manny Pacquiao. (Joseph Vidal/ Senate PRIB/file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Manny Pacquiao will be a “good choice” as the presidential bet of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said Thursday.
“I think he will be a good choice of the party to push for president but of course, running should be voluntary, the person should be willing to run for that particular position,” Pimentel, the party’s executive vice chairman, said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.
“It seems that he has been preparing for this possibility. He has many ideas and he has been explaining his ideas, the program of the government, his platform,” he added as he pushed Pacquiao to already declare his intent to run for the presidency in 2022.
Pacquiao, while being floated as one of the prospective presidential bets in the coming elections, has yet to make any official announcement on his plans for 2022.
Pimentel noted that “many people” from various sectors and socio-economic classes have expressed support for Pacquiao in the polls.
“They are consulting with him, telling him their problems, sharing with him, dialoguing with him so this is what we need. This is the leader that we need. The president that we need, number one, who has the plan for the country, who has the right heart,” Pimentel said.
“It is time to look at the heart. Look at the heart, the heart is in the right place with the right motivation, with the right feelings and emotions,” he added.
Aside from this, a president should also have “widespread enough support from the people of the Philippines.”
“That is why if you look at senatorial surveys, he’s topping it,” he added.
Pimentel likewise called on other PDP-Laban members who want to seek the presidency to make a declaration by August or early September whether or not they will run.
“As the months go by and we come closer to October, which is the time for filing for the certificate of candidacy, those interested must declare. Even Sen. Pacquiao has not declared, so those who are interested within the party must declare,” he said.
“Because if no one within the party declares, then the party members are now free to assume that the party will not be fielding any presidential candidate. They must declare at the latest, I believe, August, September, they should now be declaring but not too late in September so that some formalities within the party will be observed,” Pimentel added.