MANILA, Philippines ? To fire up his campaign, presidential candidate and senator Richard Gordon brandished on Tuesday, a replica of the sword his great-grandfather, Jose Tagle, seized from a Spanish general in remembrance of the "first victory of the (1896) Revolution," in Cavite.

Gordon said his ancestor Tagle played a key role as an ally of General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Setting the tone of heroism and change for his campaign, Gordon said, "Today, we begin the first victory of the country. We need to have leaders chosen based on right, not popularity; honesty, not buying the presidency; work ethic, not inheritance."

The motorcade carrying Gordon and running-mate Bayani Fernando has been driving along SLEX in Muntinlupa on its way to Cavite, as of this posting.

Earlier, Gordon arrived more than 90 minutes late for his own motorcade to launch his presidential campaign.

Fernando, the former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, arrived much earlier at the appointed meeting place: a gasoline station on South Luzon expressway.

Traffic on the expressway was slow as more than 50 cars with Gordon and Fernando's posters, including Red Cross ambulances, joined the convoy. Fernando also brought some of his trucks, including a huge cement mixer and the truck he designed as Optimus Prime, in reference to the Gordon-Bayani campaign tag, "The Transformers."