President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and provided updates on the government's efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis in the country on January 13, 2021.

 

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday rejected the call of a former lawmaker for President Duterte to apologize to Sen. Manny Pacquiao over his recent tirades against the senator.

 

Duterte has been criticizing Pacquiao in public remarks, highlighting the soured relationship between the once close political allies.

 

He called Pacquiao “punch-drunk” for alleging that some P10 billion in aid for sectors displaced by pandemic-related lockdowns is missing.

 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/07/22/2114187/duterte-wont-apologize-pacquiao-palace

 

-- © Copyright Philstar 2021-07-22

Of course he won't apologize, and he shouldn't. Pacquiao played a dirty trick, accusing the administration of massive corruption, then going on a 2 month training camp in the USA. He could have waited until he returned before opening his mouth, and proving his allegations rather than just talking. Pacquiao is popular, but so is Duterte. If Duterte/Duterte (father and daughter) and Pacquiao run as competitors in next year's elections, it will split the vote and both could lose.