Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” on Friday said he will not give way to another presidential candidate and slide down to vice president for the 2022 national polls.

He added that he will not change his running mate, health advocate Dr. Willie Ong. Domagoso and Ong are running under the Aksyon Demokratiko party founded by the late former senator Raul Roco.

“We are in a pandemic, and people need decisiveness. Our lives get more challenging because of that kind of character [of having decisiveness],” he said.

“I am happy and grateful for Dr. Willie, that he said yes to be my running mate,” he said.

As the opposition is seeking to unite, there are rumors Domagoso would give way to another presidential candidate. Further confusing things are unverified news that Ong will be replaced with Senator Grace Poe.

“Doc. Willie won’t be changed,” Domagoso said in Filipino.

Ong said he initially did not intend to run for any public office and even rejected the offer to run for the second highest post in the land, but was eventually convinced by Domagoso.

“This is not my plan. I was just here, silent and helping. But then, many coincidences happened,” Ong said in poll.

Ong ran for a Senate seat in the 2019 mid-term polls but lost. He ranked 18th in the senatorial polls receiving over seven million votes and got the second highest number of absentee votes.