Vice presidential candidate Willie Ong maintained that quitting the 2022 vice presidential race was not in his mind amid push to pair his tandem Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
“Focused lang ako sa kailangan kong gawin. Salamat kay Mayor Isko na pinili n’ya ako, pero ngayon nasa akin na ang bola, tuloy-tuloy tayo hanggang May 9. Salamat sa aking followers, eye on the ball tayo,” the celebrity doctor said in a Facebook post.
Ong clarified that the interview of him saying that he was hurt with the possibility of an Isko-Sara tandem was done a month ago.
“Kailangan kong manalo kasi kailangan kong mabigay ang tulong sa gamutan, sa pagkain… Sino pa ba ang tunay na nagmamahal sa inyo? Hindi ko naman kailangan magtapang-tapang pa. O baka gusto nyo matapang, ano pa ba ang mas matapang sa ginagawa ko? Twenty-seven years na tumutulong ng libre, nagsasakripisyo para sa inyo,” he said.
Moreno started the Mindanao leg of his campaign without Ong. His campaign manager said it was his decision not to bring Dr. Willie Ong with them so as not to dishearten the latter due to supporters who were pair Domagoso with Duterte.
“That was my decision. Kasi nga, whenever you make sorties or campaign trips, you send an advance team, normally, four or 5 days beforehand, even a week beforehand. They called me up and they said, ‘Boss, puro streamers dito, Isko-Sara,’ tarpaulins, puro Isko-Sara,” Lito Banayo told ANC.
