A woman takes a picture of vice presidential candidate Sen. Bongbong Marcos during a campaign sortie in Tarlac province on Monday, March 28, 2016. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
INSTEAD of jeers, Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. received a warm welcome in Tarlac, the bailiwick and home province of the Aquino clan.
The senator drew cheers when he arrived at the Tarlac State University Gymnasium in Tarlac City, where he participated in the 2nd leg of the Radyo Inquirer Issues Forum on Monday.
During the forum, he was asked by panelist Aida Gonzales if he is ready and willing to assist the residents of Tarlac if he wins the vice presidency in the May 9 elections.
Gonzales explained that common practice of politicians who, after winning an election, tend to leave out support for provinces identified with his or her rivals.
But Marcos explained that if he wins, support will be given to all residents in every part of the country.
“Dapat hindi na natin isipin na ito ay Aquino country, may Marcos country o me ganitong country, lahat po tayo ay Pilipino.” (We should stop thinking that this province is Aquino country or this province is Marcos country. We are all Filipinos here, Marcos reiterated.
“Dahil sa pamumulitika, tayo ay pinaghahati-hati, huwag po tayong pumayag. (Politics tend to divide us. We should not allow this to happen, Marcos explained.)
Marcos further reiterated that once the elections are over and the people have chosen their new leaders, politics should quickly be set aside and attention must be focused on the task at hand of making positive changes for the benefit of the people.
Thousands of residents trooped to the Tarlac State University Gymnasium where Marcos was welcomed by the people of Tarlac, Tarlac.
He was joined by former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros, ACT-CIS Representative Samuel Pagdilao Jr., and former PDEA Director, retired General Dionisio Santiago.
The group faced tough questions from residents and the panelists on the issues regarding health, crime prevention and local government assistance to workers, among others.
The 2nd Radyo Inquirer Issues Forum is a joint project of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer.net’s Next Video, Mega Mobile, Blank Pages Productions and Voice of the Youth Network.
The forum was created to provide voters more information on the different views of candidates on different issues and how they would address these issues.
The Issues Forum is the brainchild of Trans-Radio Broadcasting Corporations’ President, Paolo R. Prieto.