On the fourth day of their campaign, presidential hopeful Sen. Panfilo Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, toured Davao del Norte after securing the support of their allies in their hometowns of Imus, Cavite, and Quezon City.
Davao del Norte is considered a bailiwick of Lacson-Sotto in Mindanao by virtue of their strong alliance with Partido Reporma stalwarts former House Speaker Pantaleon ‘Bebot’ Alvarez and incumbent Governor Edwin Jubahib, who committed solid support to campaign for their tandem.
Shortly upon arriving at the Davao City airport Friday morning, the tandem went straight to the Panabo Multipurpose Tourism Cultural and Sports Center, where they were welcomed by around 2,000 political allies and supporters wearing white campaign t-shirts.
Present in the socially distanced indoor assembly were the mayors, vice mayors, council members and constituents of Panabo City, Tagum City, Island Garden City of Samal, Santo Tomas, Carmen, Kapalong, San Isidro, New Corella, Asuncion, Dujali and Talaingod.
Speaking before the crowd, Jubahib stressed Filipinos are in dire need of incorruptible leaders with good hearts and pure intentions to serve the public. They vowed to solve the age-old problems plaguing the nation such as insurgency, unemployment and poverty, among others.
“And I strongly believe that the people who can help end the problems of the Philippines are none other than Senator Ping Lacson, Senator Tito Sotto, and our candidates for senator,” the governor said.
Sotto spoke about their platforms geared towards ending corruption, including their flagship Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program. He said this would induce widespread social and economic development in the poorest communities of the country.
Lacson vowed to relentlessly push for their reform-oriented policies that would re-establish a good government, which the present and future generations of Filipinos can be proud of, reflecting the democratic ideals of Partido Reporma that embraced him to be its standard-bearer.
Lacson and Sotto then traveled to nearby Tagum City where similar activities were scheduled. Present during this leg of their campaign sortie were Partido Reporma senatorial aspirants Dr. Minguita Padilla and former Makati Rep. Monsour del Rosario.
Senate Guest candidate and former Agriculture chief Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol also joined the gathering.
Alvarez and Jubahib are the president and secretary-general of Partido Reporma respectively, which is the ruling party in Davao del Norte.
They are leading the efforts to strengthen and consolidate support for the candidacies of Lacson, Sotto, and the loyal members of their senatorial lineup.
They are seeking reelection themselves but are not facing a serious challenge from their opponents, as the majority of their constituents are generally satisfied with their administration, so they are concentrating instead on securing the electoral victory for the Lacson-Sotto tandem.
