MANILA - The camp of Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday denied observations that their principal seems to be "imploding" since he began calling for Vice President Leni Robredo to withdraw her presidential bid.

It is only the "intellectual elite, the political analysts" and those from the upper class who have that view, said Lito Banayo, Domagoso's chief strategist.

"For the C, D, E, that is a different story all together," he told ANC's Headstart.

"Candor, frankness, being what you really are is more treasured by the Filipino electorate, especially the poor and marginalized than choosing your words before your audience," he said.

"I'm not saying it's helping, but I dispute the fact or statement or opinion of some that it is backfiring against him."

• 'Leni, withdraw': Isko calls on Robredo to pull out of 2022 presidential race

In an Easter Sunday joint press conference, the Manila Mayor began calling for Robredo to drop out from the presidential race, a move which caught other presidential contenders who attended the event by surprise.

Days after the Manila Peninsula press conference, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao clarified that they do not share Domagoso's call.

Former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales also apologized to Robredo for the sudden turn of events in what was supposed to be a joint announcement that no one is withdrawing from the presidential race.

• Lacson, Sotto distance selves from Isko's #WithdrawLeni call
• 'I'm sorry': Presidential hopeful Gonzales apologizes to Robredo

Despite these statements, Domagoso continued to urge Robredo to withdraw her presidential bid, even calling her the "godmother of all bullies" and taking a swipe at the Vice President's use of teleprompters during campaign rallies.

• Isko stands by #WithdrawLeni call, urges Robredo camp to 'stop being a bully'
• Robredo camp to 3 fellow presidential bets: 'Who benefits from such theatrics?'

Banayo said he has no intention of stopping Domagoso from spewing vitriol against Robredo or any other candidate.

"As a handler, it has never been my strong suit to temper my candidates.
I never change them because people have to know them as they are," he said.

"Hindi mo dapat i-filter yung kandidato mo unless masyadong mali like if he says he's going to war with China, ibang usapan 'yun," he said.

The same case happened during the 2016 campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte, said Banayo, who was also part of the former Davao City Mayor's campaign team.

"We were fretting every time Mayor Rodrigo Duterte would speak and come up with curses against the Pope... maraming mas nakakatakot na statements but the people saw reality in him," he said.

"The people saw that this is a candid person. I'm not saying na ginagaya ni Isko, but Isko is really like that," he said.

Domagoso speaks ill of Robredo because he was "really hurt by all the insinuations, all the lies that have been spread against him, all the pressures that the echo chamber of the yellow-pink have done in this campaign," Banayo said.

"You have to situate yourself from the point of view of the guy (Domagoso). The guy has been through the school of hard knocks. He pulled himself by the bootstraps, from abject poverty," he said.

"Niyurakan mo 'yung dignidad nung tao and I am not about to stop a guy when he does that, when he tells it as it is," he said.

"What you see is what you get. He is not a hypocrite... He is very candid about his feelings."

While several voters may have been turned off by Domagoso's recent outburst, Banayo underscored that the Aksyon Demokratiko president has a "different market to begin with."

Domagoso continues to be the "best second choice to Ferdinand Marcos and even to Leni Robredo," the strategist said, citing their camp's internal surveys.

"We have a different market to begin with in this campaign that we will see on May 9."