At Cavite miting de avance, Ping Lacson asks voters to launch 'silent revolution'
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III held their miting de avance or final rally attended by an estimated 50,000 people in Carmona, Cavite on Friday evening.
The event is a departure from the traditional miting de avances which are typically held in areas frequented by candidates.
Lacson underscored the significance of holding the campaign's final rally in Cavite which he said is the birthplace of several Filipino heroes and revolutionaries.
"Sa darating na Lunes, May 9, ako po ay nagaanyaya sa lahat...na maglunsad tayo ng isang rebolusyon. Hindi po rebolusyon na katulad na pinaglaban ng ating mga ninuno, ng ating mga bayani. Ito po ay isang tahimik na rebolusyon na kung saan ang ating gamit ay ang ating mga panulat upang i-shade sa balota ang mga pangalan ng mga dapat at karapat dapat na mamuno sa ating bansa," he told his supporters.
("This coming Monday, May 9, I'm asking everyone...to embark on a revolution. Not the kind of revolution which our leaders and heroes did, but a silent kind of revolution where we would use our pens on the ballots to shade [the circles beside] the names of those who deserve to be our country's leaders.")
This isn't his first presidential bid. He ran for the same spot in the 2004 polls, but was defeated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Meanwhile, Sotto vowed that an administration under him and Lacson will pursue a new kind of governance, one where they will actively engage the public. He explained that they have been engaging people in dialogue for the past three months of the campaign.
"Ang gusto namin, diyalogo. Gusto namin nakakausap ang mga kababayan. Umikot po kami ng 88 araw [at] nakikipag diyalog kami sa ating mga kababayan...Ayaw na po namin 'yung old style, luma, puro pa-rally rally, hindi mo naman naririnig kung anong pinagdadaanan ng mga kababayan," he said.
("What we want is dialogue. We want to speak with our countrymen. We've been going around the country for 88 days and holding dialogues with our countrymen...We don't like the old style where all you do is rally, and you don't hear what our countrymen are going through.")
Although the miting de avance normally caps a campaign, the Lacson-Sotto tandem will be holding a caravan traversing through Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite on May 7.
Lacson and Sotto earlier launched their campaigns on February 8 in Imus, Cavite. The province, where Lacson was born, is the second vote-rich area in the country, with over 2.3 million registered voters, based on data from the Commission on Elections.
Lacson has been consistently trailing behind in voters' preference surveys. Pulse Asia's latest survey conducted April 16 to 21 showed that only 2% of registered voters out of the 2,400 respondents said they will choose Lacson as their presidential bet in this year's polls.
He said he is banking on his "active and silent" supporters to vote for him in the elections.
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Meanwhile, Sotto is faring better, according to the same Pulse Asia survey which said 20% of registered voters are likely to choose him as their vice presidential candidate.
The national and local elections will take place on May 9. On that day, some 67.5 million voters will flock to polling precincts to cast their ballots.
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