Lacson cancels sorties in Ilocos

Senator Panfilo Lacson–Photo from Lacson-Sotto media bureau

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday dropped all previously-scheduled campaign sorties in the two Ilocos provinces and La Union, drawing speculations of the team’s struggles to break into the bailiwick of rival former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

But Lacson clarified that the cancellation of visits and other campaign activities in Vigan City in Ilocos Sur, and San Nicolas town in Ilocos Norte was only due to “tightness” of their prepared itinerary.

“We are short of time, because the scheduled event was in the morning, and I counted the time to get here, and considering that we still have a town hall meeting to do at 1:45 p.m., and we should leave by 3 p.m.; otherwise, we will get home [in Manila] by 1 a.m. and then we have to fly to Leyte [a few hours later] to link up with [Senate President] Sotto,” he told reporters while campaigning in Bangued town in Abra.

On Sunday, the Lacson-Sotto media team provided reporters the duo’s schedule in the Ilocos Region in the coming days, starting off on Monday with a meeting with La Union Gov. Emmanuel Ortega III and a rolling campaign around the city in the morning.

From La Union, the team was supposed to proceed to Vigan City in Ilocos Sur for lunch, head to Bangued afterwards then to San Nicolas town in Ilocos Norte in the afternoon, where he was supposed to be met by Mayor Alfredo Valdez Jr.

He said he was supposed to meet and have lunch with Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Singson at the family-owned Cafe Evelyn along the famed Calle Crisologo in Vigan City.

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