Common enemy is Bongbong? It’s unemployment, says Marcos camp

Atty. Victor Rodriguez, chief of staff and spokesperson of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Screengrab from PTV

MANILA, Philippines — The common enemy is unemployment and not presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesperson, had this to say Thursday after Lito Banayo, the campaign manager of presidential candidate Isko Moreno, claimed that the “common enemy” of the candidates is Marcos who has been leading in the surveys.

READ: Silent majority will vote for Isko Moreno —campaign manager

“From where we sit, Lito Banayo is way off the mark. The common and biggest enemy is unemployment,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

“Had he not been hateful, he could not have missed the site of the real enemies, which are unemployment at 6.5% and underemployment at 16.7% based on PSA November 2021 statistics,” he added.

Rodriguez then repeated the call of Marcos for national unity especially “in these difficult times.”

“In these difficult times, all the more that we should heed the call of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos for national unity as it is vital to strengthen the spirit of tripartism among government, private and labor sector and achieve the common goal for all, job preservation and job creation,” Rodriguez said.

The tandem of Marcos and Davao City mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio has been repeating their call for unity even before the campaign period began—even dubbing themselves the “UniTeam.”

Their critics, however, have questioned this repeated call, asking the tandem to talk about their programs instead.

READ: Marcos Jr. repeats lone battle cry for 2022 polls in campaign kick-off: Unity

Marcos and Duterte-Carpio led the presidential and vice presidential race, respectively, based on the December 2021 survey of Pulse Asia.

READ: Marcos leads Pulse poll; Robredo at 20%

JPV