Vote for qualified, not winnable bets – Lacson

ZAMBOANGA CITY – With just 40 days left before the elections, independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson is working on changing the current mindset of voters of voting for the apparent winning candidate instead of one whom they believe is the most qualified to lead.

Lacson said the latest surveys showing him at the tail end have left him more puzzled than perturbed as he found out voters preferred him for his experience and qualifications but are having doubts that he would win on May 9.

“We’re trying to breach the barrier or break the narrative of ‘we want to vote for him but our vote might go to waste if he does not win’ – this is a very common reaction from the people as we go around the country, even from our leaders on the ground,” Lacson told a press conference here in mixed Filipino and English.

“My appeal is vote for those who deserve to be voted, not because they are supposedly winnable,” he said.

He said voters thinking that their votes would be wasted if cast for a candidate whom they feel may not win was a “wrong notion, (and) would be doing a disservice to the country and to yourself.”

Lacson remains optimistic that they could enlighten voters in the remaining weeks of the campaign, citing the estimated 40 percent “soft supporters” or voters based on details he obtained from a poll.

Zamboanga mayor lauded

Meanwhile, Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar welcomed Lacson to campaign in the city despite being known as an ally of rival Vice President Leonor Robredo.

Lacson and his running mate Sen. Vicente Sotto and senatorial aspirants Emmanuel Piñol and Minguita Padilla paid a courtesy call on Salazar at city hall yesterday morning before their campaign sorties.

He acknowledged Salazar’s support for other presidential aspirants, but commended the former for opening the city to other candidates to campaign and present their platform of government.

He said he believed they could still convince those undecided voters and translate votes in his favor. – Roel Pareno