As their verbal spat continues, vice presidential candidate Lito Atienza has retaliated against presidential hopeful Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. Lacson was rebuked by Atienza on Friday for his statements, after the Buhay party-list Representative demanded the senator to quit his campaign.

As the verbal war between the two candidates continues, vice presidential contender Lito Atienza has reacted against presidential hopeful Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. After the Buhay party-list Representative demanded Lacson to abandon his candidacy, Atienza reprimanded him for his statements on Friday.

“If he is really decided, I would respect his decision. No hard feelings, no nothing. That is your decision Ping, not mine. You don’t need to be insulting to make your point, bravo! That’s my Ping Lacson!” Atienza stated in an interview on ANC.

“But his answer telling me to go back to grade school, that is the one insulting. What my retort to that is ‘Learn some manners too, Ping,’” he stated.

On Thursday, Atienza announced his intention to retire as a vice presidential candidate, and Lacson urged him to do the same in order to defeat the UniTeam duo of former senator Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara-Duterte Carpio. He also stated that he was willing to let Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, a fellow legislator and contender, to run alongside presidential hopeful and Senator Manny Pacquiao. Atienza, who has been absent from discussions due to knee surgery, stated that when he made the statement, he had no intention of offending Lacson.

“There is nothing discourteous, there is nothing insulting. Definitely, it is full of patriotic sense. I thought Ping is a genuine patriot, he would have not taken it very insultingly if he took with it a patriotic grain of salt,” he stated.

“I did not say anything mean to him. I didn’t say he is not qualified or he’s an evil person. I did not reveal his defects. What I said was the situation that would make me back out without any second thought,” he stated.

The statement was made a day after Lacson rejected the call made by Atienza urging him to withdraw from the presidential race, adding that he felt “insulted” by the remarks.

For Lacson’s part, Ace Acedillo, his spokesperson, defended the latter and said it was Atienza who made the “uncalled for” comment about Lacson.

“From our end, it was Lito Atienza who made an uncalled for comment directed towards Ping Lacson. Huwag naman na siya ngayon ang magrereklamong nainsulto siya,” Acedillo explained.