At the same time, the 2.7 million-strong Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association (TODA) conducted simultaneous rallies and motorcades in various parts of the country yesterday afternoon to show their support for Mrs. Arroyo.
The total number of votes claimed by TODA and Pro-Gloria officials comprise 36.7 percent of 44.2 million registered voters, according to the latest count by the Commission on Elections.
Pro-Gloria secretary-general Alex Cauguiran said in a statement that their coalition has campaign teams at the barangay and precinct level in order to ensure Mrs. Arroyo’s victory in the presidential race.
He said their target 13.5 million votes for the President were outside the ambit of influence of political parties supporting her candidacy.
Cauguiran explained that Pro-Gloria chapters in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao easily secured its target number of votes by recruiting coordinators in each of the 246,104 voting precincts throughout the country.
"We have instructed our precinct coordinators to recruit 10 supporters of the President per precinct. Given this effort, we hope to reach the target of 13.5 million votes for the entire archipelago," he said, adding that the target is the minimum number of votes needed to win the presidential race, given a field of five serious contenders.
Pro-Gloria was able to organize campaign teams up to the precinct level by coordinating the efforts of various groups supporting Mrs. Arroyo’s candidacy, according to Cauguiran.
He added that as part of Pro-Gloria’s campaign, the coalition launched Biyaheng Gloria, a 45-day caravan that kicked off last March 27. The caravan is expected to converge in Manila on May 5 to present three million signatures of support for Mrs. Arroyo.
TODA, for its part, had conducted rallies and motorcades simultaneously held in Quezon City; the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area; Bulacan; Cabanatuan; Pampanga; Batangas; Mandaue, Cebu; Tagbilaran, Bohol; Tacloban; Bacolod; Iloilo; Davao and Zamboanga City to prove its members support Mrs. Arroyo and not other candidates, as claimed by certain sectors.
"This is only a preview of the TODA power ... We will show our full power on May 10 when we deliver the vote for" Mrs. Arroyo, TODA president Jun dela Cruz said. "The tricycle sector is a significant part of the transport sector and we want the public to recognize its importance."
Dela Cruz stressed the rally was not only an event involving tricycle drivers since they were joined by urban poor groups, businessmen and professionals, youth organizations and market vendors under the Kasangga ni Gloria movement.
He said their rally, aside from expressing support for Mrs. Arroyo, is also a call for vigilance against cheating in the May 10 polls.
"We are calling not only for unity but vigilance in the coming polls. We know that sinister forces are just waiting in the wings to make a mockery of our democracy. We in Kasangga cannot permit this to happen so we will re-declare our allegiance not only to (Mrs. Arroyo) but also to the country," Kasangga founding chairman Teodorico Haresco said. – With Rainier Allan Ronda