Duterte, Cayetano to bare platforms today in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines – Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, are expected to formally launch today their platforms of government in Cebu.

The duo will hold a press conference with members of Cebu tri-media in the morning and pay a courtesy call to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma at 1 p.m.

By 4 p.m., Duterte and Cayetano will proceed to the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City where they will reveal their proposed programs before an expected crowd of 5,000.  Organizers have dubbed the gathering “Panagsultianay uban kang Duterte ug Cayetano (Conversation with Duterte and Cayetano).”

A concert called “Tunog sa Pagbabago” will then follow at 6 p.m. where Duterte is expected to serenade the crowd with a Visayan song.

Among those set to perform are Jimmy Bondoc, Luke Mejares, Paolo Santos, Thor Pido, Crib, Gail Viduya, Gibson Viduya, Kiko Verzosa and Njel de Mesa, as well as Cebu performers Von Saw, Jacqueline Chang, Ivy Gallur, Uly Tenchanvez and Kurt Flick.

In a statement, Cayetano, thanked their supporters and the media for “communicating their message of real change for the country.”

“I have always believed that the media is the most effective way of communicating with our people. Using media and advocacy advertising, we were able to communicate better to a broader audience amid the black propaganda mounted against us by those who were affected by my relentless anti-graft and corruption campaign,” he said.

Cayetano said the support they are receiving is a testament of the people’s confidence in the change that their tandem wants to bring.

With 2.7 million residents eligible to vote in the May 2016 elections, Cebu remains to be the top vote-rich province in the Philippines, according to the data from the Commission on Elections.

Cebu City alone has around 630,000 registered voters. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMD (FREEMAN)