Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson showed up with running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III in-person for the first time at a major political gathering held in Cabuyao City, Laguna over the weekend to meet thousands of their supporters in the province.
The pair took the fifth iteration of their “Online Kumustahan” series to Laguna on Saturday to personally communicate their platforms of government for 2022 and beyond that are anchored in their Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) agenda.
Both Lacson and Sotto remembered Laguna as one of the provinces where they always emerged successful during their previous senatorial runs, with the latter often placing at the top while the former ranked at either close second or third.
“If the elections are held here in Laguna, we will win,” Sotto told hundreds of their supporters present in the socially distanced political rally held at the Nevalga Farm assembly hall in Barangay Sala, Cabuyao City.
Thousands more residents of Laguna expressed their support for the Lacson-Sotto tandem virtually as the entire activity was connected to 23 satellite venues, including some barangays under the cities and municipalities of Biñan, Calamba, San Pablo, San Pedro and Santa Rosa.
Sotto said they are foregoing retirement for the next six years to help solve the enormous sets of problems facing our nation today with respect to public health, economy, national security, peace and order, among others.
The incumbent Senate President explained that by offering themselves to the public this election season, he and Lacson would finally be granted a chance to implement the many laws they have authored more thoroughly and with higher success rates.
Sotto said their BRAVE program is “the silver bullet” that could address the Filipinos’ most common and immediate concerns—from unemployment, poverty, to widespread corruption—all at once.
“When I say silver bullet, that means even Dracula will be killed… So, with BRAVE, all the problems that we’re seeing will be addressed through budget reforms in which public funds will be spent judiciously and where everybody can benefit,” he said.
Among the local political figures who committed support for the Lacson-Sotto tandem in Laguna are city and municipal mayors Mel Gecolea (Cabuyao City), Ruben Alvarez (Alaminos), Arlene Arcillas
(Santa Rosa), Arman Dimaguila (Biñan City), and Timmy Chipeco (Calamba City), as well as other barangay officials and leaders of different non-government and civil society organizations.
Meanwhile, Lacson emerged as a strong third placer in the first Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) on presidentiables conducted by Radyo Veritas, garnering 19 percent in a poll of 2,400 respondents nationwide.
Conducted throughout the month of October, the respondents were asked online about their perception of who among the presidential aspirants in the 2022 elections adheres to Catholic values and beliefs. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Lacson, who is a Catholic, scored better than Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso (9 percent), and incumbent Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Christopher “Bong” Go, and Manny Pacquiao, who each got one percent.
Among the other presidential candidates, Vice President Leni Robredo got a score of 37 percent, followed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. with 27 percent.
