(UPDATE) The group launched to support Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's presidential bid on Tuesday said it was shifting to Vice President Leni Robredo, calling on other candidates to come together to stop the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang.
Former MMDA general manager Tim Orbos, who leads the group IM Pilipinas, said Robredo is now in the best position to win the May 9 presidential elections, as she ranks second in pre-election surveys after Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
"From a call for unity, we now shift to a call for unity for Vice President Leni Robredo in her campaign to be our president this 2022," Orbos said in a press conference.
"The vice president is consistently in second place for the past months and have been on a steady rise, with the biggest increase as shown in the latest survey. That should be telling," he added.
Orbos said that except for the camps of Robredo and labor leader Leody De Guzman, all other presidential candidates have rejected their call for unity.
"Kailangan ng lahat ng tulong regardless of our politics and colors. Otherwise the past that we have seen ay babalik, at kasalanan natin ito. Alam natin there is hardly a month left and drastic measures must be taken at this point. We need now to consolidate our troops, tama na ang bangayan," he said.
While they believe that Moreno has exemplified the qualities of a good leader especially during the pandemic, the country is facing a different set of problems now, Orbos added.
"There is no such thing as walang iwanan. Napakadaling sabihin nun. Pero para saan?... Ibigay na lang natin doon sa may pag-asa, baka sakali mangyari pa yung gusto natin," he said.
"We push the presidentiables to support VP Leni, and if it does not work --- sinabi ng kandidato na itutuloy ko ito hanggang matapos --- sinabi ko na sa inyo yan, may dangal kung ibigay natin ang boto natin kung saan kailangan," he added.
Moreno said he was unaffected by the defection of IM Pilipinas, saying it is all part of politics.
“Demokrasya ito e. They can do whatever they want to do. They are entitled to their own opinion. Basta ang alam ko sinabi nila sobra daw ang galit nila kay Marcos. E wala naman akong galit kay Marcos,” he told reporters in an interview.
"Nirerespeto ko yung opinion nila but uulitin ko, alam mo hindi ako tumakbo para awayin o kamuhian si Leni Robredo, si Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., si Ping Lacson, si Manny Pacquiao, hindi ko sila kaaway. Yung away ng ibang tao e ito nga yung nagdudulot ng bigat sa bawat Pilipino," he added.
IM Pilipinas' shift to Robredo came a few weeks after the leaders of Lacson's party, Partido Reporma, also decided to throw their support to the vice president instead.
In the March 2022 Pulse Asia survey, Robredo's voter preference surged to 24% with an increase of 9 percentage points from the previous month. Marcos kept his lead in the same survey with 56%, but his voter preference went down by 4 percentage points.
Moreno came in third place, with 8% voter preference, although he remains as the top alternative choice for president.
ALSO READ:
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How Can Leni Robredo Catch Up with Bongbong Marcos in Surveys?
Isko Moreno Says He's the 'Peace of Mind' Choice for Voters
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