‘Warm’ reception in ‘Solid North’ elates Lacson-Sotto tandem

Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III head to Cauayan City Hall to join the flag ceremony on Monday, Mar. 14, 2022. (LACSON-SOTTO MEDIA BUREAU)

MANILA, Philippines — The Partido Reporma tandem of Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III expressed delight over the “warm” reception accorded to them by residents of Isabela and Cagayan, said to be the vaunted “Solid North” during national elections.

This reception has bolstered Lacson’s theory that sought to debunk the “Solid North” claim, where voters are said to throw their full support behind an Ilocano-speaking candidate.

“In the many sorties we had, with dialogue as our theme and with a clear, ready platform, we are confident that somehow, we were able to convert from the so-called Solid North,” he said in an interview with reporters in Tuguegarao City.

The pair of Lacson and Sotto are on the Cagayan Valley leg of their campaign, setting off from Cauayan City in Isabela on Monday and Tuguegarao City in Cagayan on Tuesday.

Lacson is set to barnstorm Quirino province on Wednesday, but he will not be joined by Sotto due to the latter’s meeting with the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the 2022 elections.

Lacson played down the latest Pulse Asia survey, which showed him garnering just 2 percent of the respondents among other presidential aspirants.

“That supposed 2 percent is not what we are feeling on the ground,” he said.