1Sambayan sees strongest support in Western Visayas

ILOILO CITY — The opposition coalition 1Sambayan sees its strongest support in Western Visayas, six months before the May 2022 elections.

“We feel that the strength of the party right now, the ticket, is (in) Panay as well as Negros,” former Ifugao representative and senatorial candidate Teddy Baguilat said in a press conference at the Iloilo provincial capitol on Thursday.

Baguilat, who separately visited Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, said they also have strong support in Region IV (Mimaropa and Calabarzon) and Bicol.

Vice President Robredo, the coalition’s presidential candidate, is from Camarines Sur province in Bicol.

Baguilat said they are consolidating the support for the coalition in Western Visayas which they consider an advantage over other candidates.

He cited the public declaration of support for Robredo by Treñas and Defensor, among the first officials in the Visayas to endorse Robredo’s presidential bid.

“We seem to have momentum here in Panay,” Baguilat said.

Robredo and vice presidential candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan are scheduled to visit Bacolod City in Negros Occidental on Friday to open a campaign headquarters and meet with local officials.

Treñas on Thursday also declared support for Baguilat.

“As a public servant for more than a decade, it is vital to choose the right leaders that will help the country rise from the challenges. Congressman Teddy Baguilat Jr. is one of the senatorial slates of my dream president, Leni Robredo. He is an activist focusing on indigenous peoples’ rights and the rights of other minority groups and fights to curb police brutalities,” Treñas said in a statement after the courtesy visit of Baguilat at the mayor’s office.

Western Visayas, which includes the provinces of Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental, was a bailiwick of the Liberal Party (LP) until the 2016 elections.

Former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, then LP presidential candidate, won in the region with a margin of more than 1.2 million votes over Sen. Grace Poe who came in second and President Duterte who landed third.

Robredo also won by a landslide in the region with a margin of over 1.5 million votes over former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the dictator, who is also running for president in the 2022 elections.