The national convenor of Ikaw Muna (IM) Pilipinas stated on Wednesday that there is nothing personal in their shift from presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to Vice President Leni Robredo for the 2022 polls.
Tim Orbos told DZRH that while Moreno was a good candidate for the presidency, the whole effort of the opposition should be with Robredo, who he said had a chance of winning against the election frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
"Wala pong personal kay Yorme, magaling naman po siya at sana balang araw ay mapatupad din 'yung nakikita rin namin sa Malacañang," Orbos told DZRH in an interview.
(Nothing personal with Yorme. He is good and I hope someday we can achieve what we envisioned in Malacañang.)
"Pero sa ngayon po, I think the whole effort of the opposition must now be with VP Leni."
(But for now, I think the whole effort of the opposition must now be with VP Leni.)
According to Orbos, they initially pushed for a united opposition, but after this call was rejected by other presidents, they chose to devote their efforts to Robredo.
"Nakakatawa nga kasi ang united pa is the administration but not the opposition so dapat magsama-sama yung opposition, so we're pushing for that," he said.
(It’s funny because the administration is united, but not the opposition. So the opposition must come together, so we’re pushing for that.)
"Unfortunately, two weeks ago, noong sinimulan namin, ni-reject po kami kaagad ng mga presidentiables, understandable dahil naman siguro marami na rin silang panahon na nagastos at lahat na, so sabi namin there's so little time, hindi na talaga kakayanin 'to."
(Unfortunately, two weeks ago, when we started that, we were immediately rejected by presidentiables, understandable because they have spent a lot of time on this, so we said there’s so little time, it cannot happen.)
"Nag-shift na kami to a unity call to a unity call among presidentiables, to a unity call for Leni."
(So we shifted from a unity call to a unity call among presidentiables, to a unity call for Leni.)
On choosing Robredo, Orbos said this is because the country needs a candidate who does not rely on their last name.
"'Yung kailangan natin ng bansa ngayon ay isang pangulo kung saan meron talagang pwedeng gawin hindi lang doon sa pangalan niya," he said.
(The country needs a president who can really do a lot, not just by name.)
"At first, marami pa pong rason, hindi ko na lang babanggitin - pero ang importante po, 'yung may tsansang manalo."
(At first, there were a lot of reasons, I will not mention them, but what is important is someone who has a chance of winning.)
Robredo is placing second behind Marcos Jr., who has a significant lead in the pre-election surveys, while Moreno places third behind the vice president.
The IM national convenor said that while they cannot unite the opposition, they can at least call on the volunteers to unite behind a single candidate.
IM Pilipinas is one of the volunteer groups that pushed Moreno to run for the presidency in the 2022 polls.
On their defection, Moreno said he wished them the best and that it "separates the men from the boys."
"Mahirap ang laban pero kung 'yung taumbayan nga hindi sumusuko sa problema nila eh, 'yung taumbayan nga hindi sumusuko sa mga suliranin na kanilang hinaharap, anong dahilan natin sumuko?" he said.
(My fight is difficult but if the people don't give up on their problems, what reason do I have for giving up?)
