MANILA, Philippines - More than 3,000 people jammed Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila Thursday night for an ‘Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Peace and Unity” in support of the surging candidacy of Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential bet Gibo Teodoro.
The event was organized by “Mahal Ko, Bayan Ko,” a volunteer group that has been at the forefront of Gibo’s quest for the presidency in the May 10 polls. “This is a prayer rally in support of Gibo. We feel he is the best candidate among those running for President. The best we have had in many decades,” Evelyn Kilayko convenor of the Mahal Ko, Bayan Ko, said.
Groups, representing Teodoro’s volunteers in Metro Manila and the provinces nationwide are mostly coming from the ranks of young urban professionals yuppies, various religious denominations and the youth sector have been actively campaigning for Teodoro all by themselves.
Fr. Noel Ormenita, a parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Imus, Cavite, explained why he and 50 of his parishioners attended the Interfaith Rally. “I believe in Gibo’s principles, his competency for the job and his intelligence. He has the abilities and experience to raise the country from its current problems,” he said
Pastor Ed Bacani of the Victory Christian Fellowship, an Evangelical Church in Manila, said his support for Gibo “is purely personal.” “But I found out that my family and friends shared a similar belief in him. We talked and decided that Sec. Teodoro is the only one who can bring this country to the next level. Our group grew and grew, and now several of my parishioners are here with me,” he said.
Relatedly, tens of thousands of Gibo volunteers nationwide vowed to take to the streets in major urban centers as well as the slum districts in the next two weeks leading to the May 10 elections in order to mount spontaneous “green” campaigns and “green rallies” in support of Gibo.
These “green rallies” are being spearheaded by various Gibo volunteer groups, including Kilayko’s Mahal Ko, Bayan Ko, Green Team 2010, G-Squad, Animo Gibo, Palit-Galing Movement; Friends of Ramos for Teodoro; and Green Team Brigades (GTB).
And in a show of force, Teodoro’s volunteers are slated to conducted a rally at the Araneta Center in the Cubao Central Business District yesterday afternoon to coincide with simultaneous rallies of volunteers for Gibo in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Baguio, Cebu, Vigan, Lucena and General Santos; and in San Fernando, Pampanga and Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.
Teodoro was in Capiz the other day wherein volunteer groups in the province vowed to deliver him the winning votes in the coming May 10 polls.