MANILA, Philippines — “Napakatamis ng oo ninyo (Getting your ‘yes’ is so sweet),” presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had this to say on Tuesday after securing the support of One Cebu, the largest local political party in the vote-rich Cebu province.
Marcos and his running mate Davao City mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio both attended the general assembly of One Cebu in Cebu City where party president Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia formally endorsed the tandem for the 2022 polls.
“Governor Gwen Garcia… if you remember at one event a few months ago. I teased you. Nandito kaming dalawa ni Inday Sara and I remember I said, ‘Hindi kami aalis dito hanggang narinig na namin ang iyong matamis na oo’. And I can attest to that, napakatamis ng oo ninyo,” Marcos said.
READ: Bongbong Marcos gets backing of Garcia-led One Cebu party
“The events of today cannot be overstated. The importance of the events that we have undertaken here today cannot be overstated,” he added.
Marcos said getting the support of One Cebu, as well as the backing of the mayors of Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Talisay City gives them a better chance of winning in the elections.
“Cebu has occupied a very special place in Philippine life and history. And even after the capitol was moved to Luzon, Quezon City to Manila, Cebu province and cities has continued to occupy a very special place in our political lives, in our economic lives in the entire Philippines,” Marcos said.
“That is why this has been a significant as I say, a significant day, significant development in the campaign that we are undergoing and the election in the few weeks,” he added.
Marcos also reiterated his call for unity, which has been a consistent message in his campaign.
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio thanked the leaders of Cebu province for “their unwavering confidence in me as a vice presidential candidate.”
“The unity between One Cebu and the UniTeam of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte is one of the positive signs that I will personally hold on to until we reach victory — that we will be able to realize our dreams for the Filipinos and our beloved country,” Duterte-Carpio said in Bisaya.
During the general assembly, an alliance agreement was signed between One Cebu and the UniTeam, forming the “One Cebu UniTeam Alliance.”
Under the alliance agreement, One Cebu agreed to “give its full and unqualified support, and endorse and campaign for the presidential candidate, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.” and “agrees to give their full and unqualified support, and endorse and campaign for the vice presidential candidate, Sara Z. Duterte.”
A second alliance agreement, called “the One Cebu Island UniTeam Alliance”, was also signed which includes the mayors of Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Talisay City.
Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue cities are politically independent from the provincial government being 1st class highly urbanized cities.
House Majority Leader and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) President Martin Romualdez claimed that the alliance in Cebu province and cities will “help them seal a landslide victory in the coming elections.”
“While we already expect that the UniTeam tandem will win in the upcoming presidential elections, the latest support that we got will further lead Marcos and Duterte to landslide victories,” Romualdez said.
“With their avowed help and support, we will have these votes,” he added.
READ: Rep. Garcia resigns as One Cebu sec-gen: I can’t support party endorsing Marcos
Cebu is the most vote-rich province in the country with over 3.2 million registered voters for the upcoming polls, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).