Atienza says call for Lacson withdrawal not an insult, merely a suggestion

Vice presidential candidate and House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza on Monday stressed that his previous call for Senator Panfilo Lacson to withdraw from the presidential race was not an insult but merely a suggestion.

"Hindi magwi-withdraw si Ping. Ayoko isigaw ‘yun dahil kaibigan ko rin naman si Ping. Kaya nagulat ako sa kanyang reaction, ininsulto ko daw siya. Ping, I did not insult you. The insult may have just come from your imagination," Atienza said.

(Ping will not withdraw. I don’t want to shout that out because Ping is also my friend. That’s why I was surprised by his reaction that I was insulting him. Ping, I did not insult you. The insult may have just come from your imagination.)

The lawmaker issued the remark in an interview on CNN Philippines days after Lacson said he was insulted by Atienza’s call.

"I merely made a suggestion, and friends, friends... make [a] suggestion. Walang insulto doon. Sabi niya, di ako magwi-withdraw eh. Kung hindi ka magwi-withdraw e di 'di ka magwi-withdraw. Final 'yun, coming from you," he added.

(I merely made a suggestion, and friends, friends… make a suggestion. There’s no insult there. He said he will not withdraw. Then he will not withdraw. That’s final coming from you.)

Atienza also said he was set on Lacson’s withdrawal because he is the running mate of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.  He previously endorsed Sotto as his replacement should he abandon his vice-presidential bid.

“If he is not the partner of Tito Sotto, I would not even mention his name,” he said.

Atienza reiterated that he is considering "changing course" due to his non-attendance in campaign activities. Knee surgery has prevented Atienza from joining running mate Senator Manny Pacquiao in his campaign sorties.

When sought for clarification on whether he is decided on withdrawing, Atienza said, “If my withdrawal will cause a re-alignment of forces, yes. But if it will not cause anything and I will merely desert the side of Pacquiao, no.”

GMA News Online sought the comment of Lacson on Atienza's remark but he has yet to issue a response as of posting time.—AOL, GMA News