Jack Enrile, Joseph Victor Ejercito and Nancy Binay
MANAY, Davao Oriental—The offsprings of the so-called “three kings” of the United Nationalist Alliance will each head their own groups of senatorial candidates in their campaign throughout the country.
UNA plans to divide its nine candidates into groups of three to enable them to cover more ground during the campaign period, according to the candidates.
The three groups will be headed by Nancy Binay, Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Jack Enrile.
The three are the children of UNA leaders Vice President Jejomar Binay, former President Joseph Estrada, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Incidentally, they are also UNA’s top placers in surveys.
“It will allow us a little bit more mobility, the smaller groups, and then the reach will be a little bit broader because in one province, three groups would be going around instead of following a single itinerary,” Jack Enrile told reporters.
UNA candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri said he had seen the value of having a smaller campaign group when he and Ejercito went around the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region last week.
“We campaigned for Team UNA and it went faster. We hit eight towns in one day. (That’s the best because you can cover more ground,” Zubiri told reporters.
He also said it would make voters remember the candidates better.
“We have to shift our campaign strategy. A wise man told me, in a commercial you never see 12 different products. Have you ever seen a commercial with 12 different products? It won’t work,” he said.
Having smaller groups can also help them get their platforms across in a clearer way.
“The messaging will be more focused,” he said.
But Nancy Binay said the groups of three would still campaign together, especially if its leaders are present in the sortie.
Binay said the three groups would still campaign for all nine candidates, even those who are not part of the group.
She said the absent candidates’ staff would be included in the groups’ motorcade so they would still be represented. The candidates can also send proxies.
On Wednesday, UNA candidates campaigned in the towns of Manay and Mati in Davao Oriental.
They spoke before a jampacked basketball court in Manay, and met with local leaders in Mati before holding a motorcade under a scorching mid-afternoon sun.
Aside from Enrile, Binay, and Zubiri, those who also joined Wednesday’s sorties were Ernesto Maceda, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Tingting Cojuangco, and Mitos Magsaysay.
Enrile, however, said that his 89-year-old father might not be able to join UNA’s sorties in the provinces because of his poor eyesight.
“His body is physically very strong, the problem is his vision. His steps are tentative. The hazards in the campaign trail are quite extensive,” he said.