Camp says huge rally crowds show changing tide
ALLIES of opposition presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, yesterday said their rivals are now in “panic mode” as throngs continue to flock to their campaign rallies, a sign which they said shows that the political tide is now changing.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said there is now a “whiff of panic in the air” about the rising people’s support for Robredo whose campaign sorties continue to draw a huge number of supporters and volunteers.
“They are in a panic mode. The Oplan Baklas, the allegation of the crowd is ‘hakot,’ the accusation that VP Robredo is supported by the communist group, these are clear indications that they are panicking,” Drilon said in a statement.
Campaign materials of the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem, even a mural on a private property, have been taken down by authorities under the “Oplan Baklas” of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the Comelec to suspend the operation of tearing down campaign materials on private properties.
The “hakot” allegation was made by Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla who claimed some of the participants in the rally in his province, numbering about 47,000, were paid P500 each by the Robredo camp, and some of the attendee were student-activists trained by communists.
Lawyer Alex Lacson, who is running for senator under the Robredo-Pangilinan “Tropang Angat” slate, said political opponents are now feeling the heat of the growing support for the “pink” campaign that they are now seeing “red” and are accusing Robredo supporters of being communists.
“Nararamdaman na nila yung ‘pressure’ at hindi magandang balita ito para sa kanila (They’re now feeling the pressure and it’s not good news for them),” said Lacson said.
“Desperately, gagamitin nila ang maruming taktika para siraan, hindi lang si VP Leni, kundi ang mga taong sumusuporta sa Robredo presidency (they will resort to dirty tactics to discredit not only VP Leni but the people who support a Robredo presidency.”
The Robredo-Pangilinan tandem have recently been drawing huge crowds in their rallies: 20,000 in Naga City; 20,000 in Quezon City; 40,000 in Iloilo; 47,000 in Cavite; 45,000 in Bulacan and more than 70,000 in Bacolod City last Friday.
“I am surprised. To be candid, I have not seen this crowd and passion since 1986 when (the late former president) Cory Aquino came into power. This is already a movement. This is phenomenal. This is beyond political affiliations,” Drilon said.
The camp of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. claimed that at least half a million people from Las Piñas City attended his rally there last Sunday even if its population is only 606,293 as of 2020.
PLOY
Robredo, in a Facebook post, said linking her to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) is a ploy to stop the “momentum” of the people’s campaign.
She posted screen shots of “malicious” text blasts claiming she endorsed Joma Sison, founder of the CPP-NPA, as “a true patriot of the country” and that Sison has supposedly endorsed her presidential bid.
Robredo said she has been told that so many people have received these malicious text messages red tagging her and her volunteers.
“May paandar pang bubuo daw ako ng coalition government kasama ang CPP-NPA-NDF. Para klaro: kasinungalingan ito,” she said.
Robredo reiterated that she does not believe in violence as a solution to problems and that she would oppose anyone who would use arms to push their agenda. She said she would not ally with those espousing violence.
In a press conference in Malolos, Bulacan yesterday, Robredo said she called out one claim that she married an NPA cadre in her teens and allegedly abandoned their child.
She described this fake news as “wild” and said she expects more stories “as wild as this” to proliferate because support for her presidential bid continues to snowball as evidenced by the mammoth rallies in various rallies showing their support for her. She asked that people must push back together against these lies.
SURVEYS
Drilon expressed confidence that Robredo’s numbers in the upcoming surveys will reflect the huge crowds that her campaign sorties generate in various parts of the country.
“The effect of the huge rallies, I respectfully submit, are not yet reflected in the surveys done,” he said. “The fieldwork was done before all of these rallies were conducted.”
The latest survey, conducted by Pulse Asia from February 18 to 23, showed Marcos maintaining his lead with 60 percent (unchanged) voting for him if the elections were held at the time of the survey. Robredo was a far second with 15 percent from 16 percent in the previous Pulse survey.
Another Tropang Angat senatorial bet, former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, said opponents are shocked because they did not expect Robredo’s campaign to gain a lot of momentum.
“Humaharurot kasi ang kampanya ni Leni. Lumakas ang biyaheng Robredo. So ano ginagawa nila para mapahinto ito? (The Robredo trip is picking up steam so what will they do to stop it?) They abruptly switch the traffic light to red. Style ng ‘kotong’ cops (It’s the style of mulcting cops),” he said.
Remulla’s claim of communist-trained supporters prompted another presidential bet, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, to warn against communist infiltration of Robredo’s camp.
Baguilat said, “I hope that candidates who have low chances of winning will not make a pact with the devil and offer their services as a battering ram to hit another candidate.”
“They are afraid because the people, themselves, are moving in VP’s campaign),” he said in Filipino.
In Bulacan which has at least 2 million voters, Gov. Daniel Fernando endorsed Robredo at the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos City, along with several local officials like former Malolos City mayor Danilo Domingo who is Fernando’s vice gubernatorial mate, board member Alex Castro, third district Rep. Lorna Silverio, Malolos Mayor Bebong Gatchalian, and Bustos Vice Mayor Arnel Mendoza, who is running for mayor.
Among the 10 candidates for President, Fernando said “it is a woman, who is a widow, a single parent, who stands out the most because she was championing the poor and the voiceless even before she joined politics.”
Robredo thanked the governor and the local officials for uniting to support her despite running under different political parties.
Last Saturday, the Marcos camp accused some members of the media of “erroneously” reporting that Fernando had already thrown his support for Robredo when she visited the province for a rally on March 5 but the governor clarified that he did not make such an announcement at the time because he needed more time to decide.
Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, who has also joined the many local officials who are backing Robredo’s presidential bid, said President Duterte’s statement that a decisive, compassionate lawyer is an ideal chief executive of the country “is a virtual endorsement of Vice President Leni Robredo.”
Evardone said Robredo is has been very consistent in her pro-poor programs and advocacies and has gone to far-flung barangays in the country to deliver services “and listen to the cry of the marginalized sectors of our society.”
