Vice President Leni Robredo (center) poses with Otso Diretso senatorial candidates (from left) former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, civic leader Samira Gutoc, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, Sen. Bam Aquino, and Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano. (Photo from the Otso Diretso Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Despite receiving minimal support from government officials of Cebu, opposition slate Otso Diretso, accompanied by Vice President Leni Robredo, visited on Sunday the vote-rich province and campaigned for the May 13 midterm elections.
According to data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Cebu is the province with the most number registered voters in the country at 3,082,621.
The opposition slate, however, received “little overt support” from the provincial government despite Robredo’s winning in the province in the 2016 elections.
“Dahil nga malakas yung kanilang kontrol doon sa mga pamahalaang lokal, nakukuha nila yung mga hakot crowds. Sa amin naman yung mga hugot crowds. Ito yung mga galing sa iba’t-ibang sektor na may hugot, yung mga may frustrations, may disappointment, may gustong iparating sa mga mamamayan,” former Solicitor General Pilo Hilbay, who is part of the opposition slate, said in an interview during their sortie in Cebu.
Hilbay was referring to the candidates of the Duterte administration.
[Because they have a strong control of the local government, they can get the hakot crowds. On the other hand, we get the hugot crowds. These are those coming from different sectors who have frustrations, disappointments that they would want to share with other citizens.]
Hilbay added that “Cebu has a history of voting the opposition” given the province’s residents’ open-mindedness.
Two other senatorial candidates — Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano and civic leader Samira Gutoc — said there are government officials who had secretly expressed their support for the slate but were afraid to be included in the so-called narcolist and have their budgets held.
“Pero alam niyo naman na kahit ganoon na ang nangyayari, marami namang local officials na sumusuporta na hindi nakikita sa publiko,” Alejano said.
[But, as you know, even when that’s happening, there are many local officials who support us who don’t show it in public.]
“Huwag matakot, gobernador, mayor. Please consider that the Otso Diretso is already endorsed by your Catholic bishops secretly. So please, kung kayo ay talagang leader, representante ng inyong community, irepresent ang interes ninyo at hindi represent the interest of the President,” Gutoc said.
[Don’t be afraid, governor, mayors. Please consider that the Otso Diretso is already endorsed by your Catholic bishops secretly. So please, if you really are leaders, representatives of your community, represent your interests and not the interest of the President.]
Final decision in the hands of voters
Another Otso Diretso candidate, veteran election lawyer Romy Macalintal, said that, while support from government officials was limited, the final decision would still be in the hands of voters.
“Kung sinasabi nila na nasa kanila ang mga elected officials ng Cebu, ay kanila na iyon. Pero para sa akin, ang hinahanap namin dito, yung mga tunay na botante ng province of Cebu,” Macalintal said, referring to administration candidates.
[If they say that they have on their side the elected officials of Cebu, well, they can have them. But for me, what we’re looking of here are the true voters of the province of Cebu.]
Former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, meanwhile, called the opposition slate’s campaign a “people’s campaign.”
“Ang magpapanalo sa kahit kaninong kandidato sa Otso Diretso, ang tao mismo. Kaya ang Otso Diretso ay people’ movement for change,” Tañada said.
[The people themselves will be the one to make any candidate of Otso Diretso win. So Otso Diretso is a people’s movement for change.]
Third time in Cebu
The sortie marks the third time the slate visited Cebu.
Another Otso Diretso candidate, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, said they returned to Cebu because of the mutual love between the slate and the province’s residents.
“Kaya kami ay bumabalik dito ay dahil mahal na mahal namin ang Cebu at ang mga Cebuano at Cebuana. At tingin namin na minamahal din nila ang Otso Diretso,” Diokno said.
[The reason we keep returning here is that we really love Cebu and the Cebuanos and Cebuanas. And we think that they also love Otso Diretso.]
Gutoc, for her part, said they would want to visit the province more often but the lack of funds prohibited them from doing so.
/atm