Senator Manny Pacquiao, acting president of PDP-Laban, on Friday said a move urging President Rodrigo Duterte to run as vice president in the 2022 national election is not sanctioned by the party.

“It was not sanctioned… As the acting president of the party, I did not authorize that,” Pacquiao said in a press briefing.

“What I can say is the resolution made was not legit and I was not informed about it,” he said.

On Thursday, Deputy House Speaker Eric Martinez disclosed that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, the PDP-Laban vice chairman, is going around the country consulting with members regarding the resolution, which was signed by 30 lawmakers.

Pacquiao said instead of focusing on politics, party members should focus on helping the Filipinos, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added that they are not yet discussing their lineup for the 2022 election.

“We will just talk about politics once it is already election period,” he said.

Pacquiao said he does not know why is Cusi going around the country and consulting party members regarding the resolution.

“We don’t know his plan but we are here to clarify the directive of the party that we are not into politics but helping the people,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao appealed to Cusi to not divide the party members.

“Don’t divide the minds of the party members for your own interest. Unless you are going around giving help I will be glad but if you are going around for politics, don’t poison the members of the party,” he said.

“I’m not arguing with you but don’t argue with me because I’m not the kind of person you can fool. This is just a warning. I’m not arguing with you, I want to be friends with you. Let’s follow the directive of the president,” Pacquiao added.

He added that party is taking actions on the incident. Ella Dionisio/DMS