Willie Revillame on not filing COC despite Duterte push: 'Hindi ko kakayanin pumasok sa isang bagay na wala akong kakayahan.'
Willie Revillame has confirmed that he will not be running in the May 2022 National Elections despite being encouraged by President Rodrigo Duterte at least five times.
In the opening segment of his daily show Tutok to Win sa Wowowin, the 60-year-old said that "for more than seven months, pinagaralan ko to, pinagisipan ko ‘to, pinagdasal ko. Dumating na yung point where I have to decide.”
“Ito po ang desisyon para sa mas nakakarami,” he stated.
At around the 48-minute-mark of the show, Revillame shared that he was brought to the attention of President Duterte on March 16, 2021.
The host said that he had dinner with the President, his legal advisors, and senator Christopher “Bong” Go wherein they spoke for five hours and he was encouraged to run as a public official.
“Since March pinagisipan ko po nang mabuti[...] marami akong kaibigan na nakausap, marami akong tao na tinatanong at pinakikiramdam,” Revillame said. “Dumating na yung point na I have to decide na ito na ngayon kasi ito yung second to the last day of filing.”
He explained that he had tried to find out if he can balance his 5-day a week game show and the political post, but found it fruitless.
“Sa nakikita ko ngayon, hindi nagkakasundo, nakikita ko nagbabangayan, nakikita mong pataasan ng ere, hanapan ng dumi—sabi ko napakahirap pasukin ng isang bagay na ganito yung papasukin ko,” he added.
Revillame then showed papers that were the supposed certificate of candidacy (COC) for the job.
The week before the filing of candidacies, Duterte approached Revillame again with a video message through Senator Go.
In the video, the President can be seen saying: “Gusto ko tumakbo ka. Ikaw number one sa listahan ko para makatulog ka, alam kong hindi ka magco-corrupt. Alam kong tutulangan mo ang ating bansa.”
“Open pa yang slot until the last minute. Kung ayaw mo na talaga, edi pwede na tayo mag usap ulit... Bilib ako sa appeal mo sa masa.”
Revillame reiterated that he wasn’t forced by Duterte’s camp, but rather was encouraged because of his potential to help, but he still expressed doubts because of lack of experience.
“Hindi naman ako magaling mag-English, wala akong alam sa batas. Baka lang ho lait-laitin ako dun nung ating mga mahal na senador na magagaling. Hindi man lait-laitin, siguro baka wala naman ako maiaambag na batas,” the noontime show host explained.
“Baka dumating yung time na sayang lang yung boto niyo sakin—na wala akong nagagawa. Wala rin akong maambag na knowledge about the law dahil hindi ho ako abogado.”
“Hindi ko kakayanin na pumasok sa isang bagay na wala akong kakayahan.”
He concluded by saying: “Kabutihan lang ba ang dapat gawin pag nasa Senado ka? Dapat marunong ka magbasa ng batas, dapat marunong ka gumawa ng batas."
At the tail end of his show, Revillame revealed that the COC he showed earlier is actually a certificate of his contract with GMA-7 to extend his time with Wowowin.
“Eto pong programang eto ay magtutuloy-tuloy hangga’t kaya ko po mapasaya at magbigay ng tulong sainyo.”