Presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo Lacson and vice-presidential aspirant Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Sunday said they will not comment on recent developments concerning several candidates' substitution.

Saturday saw Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, file her certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice president, substituting for the placeholder candidate of Lakas-CMD.

• #HALALAN2022: Sara Duterte to run for VP under Lakas-CMD

“We don’t comment on our potential rivals in the May 2022 elections. Ang focus lang namin (our focus) is to present ourselves, our platforms, 'yung aming (our) roadmap in the next 6 years. So ipagpatawad ninyo (we apologize) we will not comment on what the other political groups are planning or doing. Thank you,” said Lacson at the Lausgroup Events Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Sotto for his part said they have decided early on this year and that their platforms are the answers to the country’s problems.

“We have decided as early as June, July this year that our programs and platforms are the answers to the problems of the country it does not matter to us who else is running that has been our formula," Sotto said.

Lacson said that presidential aspirants should instead focus on talking about issues.

”Dapat issue-based. Mataas yung level of discourse kasi kung kami maghaharap sa entablado, o kaya kanya-kanya kaming mga fora pagtapos kanya-kanyang siraan. Can you just imagine kung gaano kagulo yung takbo ng kampanya?” Lacson said.

(It should be issue-based. The level of discourse will be high if we face each other on stage, or we can each have our own fora and then slander each other. Can you just imagine how chaotic the campaign will be?)

He said they would rather focus on issues like the proper spending of the national budget, empowering local government units, and the digitalization of the bureaucracy.

The presidential aspirant said they wanted to improve research and development in the country after finding out only 0.4 percent of the national budget is spent on R&D.

The tandem and their senatorial line-up were in Pampanga this Sunday afternoon for a dance contest they organized.

Sotto meanwhile said they are finding ways on how to accommodate all 14 senatorial aspirants into their party.

”Actually it’s a pleasant problem sabi nga ni Senator Lacson sapagkat anim ang [Nationalist People's Coalition], apat ang Reporma. Eh kaso mayroon kaming apat na kaibigan na gusto rin naming manalo so mangyayari dito magmi-meeting kami soon,” said Sotto.

(Actually, it’s a pleasant problem, as Senator Lacson said, because there are six from [Nationalist People's Coalition], four from Reporma. We have four friends who we also want to win so we will need to have a meeting soon.)

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv