Although he is “100 percent sure” of running for vice president, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go conceded Tuesday he cannot control those who want to run, as he said there might be changes in his political plans for the 2022 elections.
“My candidacy for vice president might change. Changes in politics are inevitable because as I have said, politics is dirty,” an emotional Go said in an event in Antipolo City.
At one point, President Rodrigo Duterte’s longtime aide mentioned something about “a problem in substitution,” but he did not elaborate.
“This problem about the substitution in politics … there might be changes in the candidacies in the coming days. The problem here is I have to avoid that. Even if I want to serve as your vice president as what the President wanted, I need to avoid it. You will know about it in the next few days,” he told the audience in Filipino.
The senator made these remarks on the same day Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte withdrew her certificate of candidacy for reelection in the 2022 national and local elections.
Go stressed the problem is that people don’t want to believe that he is already a candidate for vice president of the ruling PDP-Laban party’s Cusi faction “for exactly 38 days (today).”
“So why don’t you want to believe that I am already a candidate for vice president? But if you don’t want to believe, just wait until (Nov.) 15, if you don’t want to believe that I am a candidate for vice president,” he insisted.
Go also noted that he got 20 million votes when he ran for senator. He is eligible to return to the Senate after the elections if he is not voted into higher office.
According to Go, he has tarpaulins all over the country, although he never directed his supporters to hang them up, nor hold caravans joined by more than 10,000 vehicles.
He thanked his supporters and vowed to serve them if he wins the vice presidency.
Go stressed changes might still occur in PDP-Laban’s roster of candidates for next year’s elections. But if there will be no changes after the November 15 deadline for substitution, he said Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa will still be the standard bearer of the Cusi faction in the ruling PDP-Laban.
Dela Rosa has also repeatedly told several media interviews that he stays as the Cusi faction standard-bearer only until November 15.
Despite insisting he is a very serious contender and 100 percent sure of fighting it out for the most coveted elective post, Dela Rosa said he is willing to give way to the President’s daughter.
Dela Rosa pointed out that the former Davao mayor has the biggest fighting chance to win as president since she has been a consistent frontrunner in all surveys.
