Pacquiao downplays poor showing in surveys

Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao

CEBU CITY – Presidential candidate and Senator Manny Pacquiao is not worried about his poor showing in recent surveys, saying these do not reflect the sentiments of the masses.

In a meeting with his supporters in Cebu last Thursday, Pacquiao said the surveys only covered 1,200 to 3,000 respondents which usually belonged to the A, B, C classes.

”The D and E class were not asked,” Pacquiao said in Cebuano.

“Unless it has God’s blessings and is supported by the D and E classes, a candidate will not win,” he added.

Pacquiao, who traces his father’s roots to Pinamungahan town in southwestern Cebu, said 48 million voters belong to class D while 9.8 million were under the E class.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao meets supporters in Batangas (Contributed photo)

The boxing world champion-turned-politician said the majority of Filipinos are looking for solutions to improve their lives.

“This is our chance to uplift the lives of the poor and jail the thieves in the government,” Pacquiao said.

Aside from meeting his supporters in Cebu, Pacquiao also attended the general assembly of barangay officials from Negros Oriental at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.

Pacquiao said he will be back for a grand rally in Cebu soon.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao urged the government to immediately release funds for consumers, especially drivers, amid the rising cost of fuel.

“The drivers specifically should be given the subsidy as soon as possible,” he said.

Pacquiao said there are several ways to address the rising fuel costs in the country and the subsidy will be one of the immediate solutions for now.

He said there are long term solutions to the problem like allocating annual trust funds or emergency funds to a specific government agency.

“I believe there is a need to have an emergency oil price stabilization fund so that when problems like this emerge, we have funds to use,” Pacquiao said.

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