TAGAYTAY CITY, Philippines — A lawmaker from the province of Laguna who is supporting Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential bid delivered a sobering thought to the opposition, saying that they need to double their efforts to improve their odds of winning come election time.
According to Laguna 1st District Rep. Dan Fernandez, Robredo will easily win if elections were only held in Santa Rosa City and the rest of Laguna, as event organizers said that the crowd estimates reached 225,000.
Riding high on a series of successful rallies with tens of thousands supporters, Fernandez reminded the mammoth crowd that attended the Laguna grand rally that the elections is a process that involved the whole country, and that with a little over one week left before the elections, they are still playing catch-up.
“Okay sana, alam niyo napaka-sarap ng inyong sigawan, kung ngayon lang gagawin ang eleksyon dito sa Santa Rosa, ngayon gagawin ang ating halalan? Garantisado ang ating kandidato, panalo,” Fernandez said, while Robredo was onstage.
“Pero, ito ang sasabihin ko sa inyo, ito ang katotohanan ng ating laban sa pagkakataon na ito, tayo ay naghahabol, tayo ay kailangangang tumulak pa, bitin pa, laban pa, hanapin pa natin ang mga nasa laylayan ng ating lipunan. Sapagkat sila ang tunay na minahal ng ating kandidato na si Leni Robredo,” he added.
Robredo agreed with Fernandez’ views, issuing a stern reminder to her supporters who seem to celebrate her supposed victory in advance.
Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo with Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones, a candidate for governor, and Rep. Dan Hernandez during the Tanglaw sa Laguna grand rally. (VP Leni Media Bureau)
The Vice President told her supporters to stop saying that, because she believes that they must work hard up to the last minute of the campaign period.
“Ngayon po, walong araw na lang ang natitira. Walong araw na lang tayo puwede magkampanya. Kanina po, marami sa akin nagsasabi, panalo na tayo, wag po tayong ganyan,” Robredo said.
“Hanggang sa kahuli-hulihan, ‘yung lahat ng ating lakas, ibuhos po natin para mangumbinsi pa ng iba,” she added.
Robredo issued more reminders to her supporters, telling them that the elections are not enough reason to sow discord between Filipinos — as convincing people to support her should be centered on finding a good future for the country.
“Parati ko pong sinasabi, radikal na pagmamahal. Ano ang gustong sabihin noon? Na buksan natin ang ating mga puso sa ating mga kababayan kahit iba pa ang kanilang paniniwala, dahil po pare-pareho naman tayong gusto, ang gusto lang naman natin mapabuti ang ating bansa, di ba?” she asked the crowd.
“Pagkatapos po ng eleksyon na ito, magkakapatid pa din tayo,” she added.
While Robredo’s rallies have always gathered huge audiences, latest surveys still indicate that she is a far second to frontrunner former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
The Vice President in the Pulse Asia survey conducted from March 17 to 20 still sits behind Marcos, as Robredo only managed to get 24 percent of votes while Marcos had 56 percent.
But Fernandez is still optimistic that there would be a repeat of the 2016 battle between Robredo and Marcos — a close race, but one where Robredo emerged as the winner.
“I will make a bold prediction, pakinggan niyo ‘to: what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again, nothing changed under the sun. Kung no’ng 2016, vice president election, dikit ang laban, ngayong 2022, presidential election, dikit ang laban,” Fernandez said.
“Kung nung 2016 vice presidential election, ang Leni Robredo lamang sa eleksyon, sa 2022 presidential election, ang Leni Robredo, lamang sa 2022,” she added.
Similarly, Robredo’s supporters have recently stressed that the fight is not yet over, pointing to the recent surveys where her numbers increased dramatically, and data from search entry shares in Google Trends.