Santiago, Marcos hold final campaign rally in QC

Supporters of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago rally for their presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Quezon City on Saturday. RICHARD REYES/INQUIRER

Presidential aspirant Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and running mate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. have not organized a miting de avance but they will make their final campaign together on Saturday night.

The street party in front of Santiago’s headquarters on West Avenue in Quezon City on the last day of the campaign period was organized by her youth volunteers. The senator confirmed her attendance to the event only at the last minute.

Santiago and Marcos toured mostly apart during the three-month campaign period, saying this was to cover more ground. The female senator also took a month-long break from the campaign for her cancer treatment.

At a press briefing on Thursday, she said that holding a miting de avance was “useless” because those who show up were paid by candidates.

Hours before her scheduled appearance, Santiago released a statement saying she would not quit the presidential race amid calls of President Benigno Aquino III for the candidates trailing Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to unite against the front-runner.

“I have said it before, and I will say it again:  I will never quit, I will never stop, I will never withdraw. I owe it to the Filipino people who believe in my leadership and who yearn for long-overdue reforms,” she said.

The senator previously said she had received offers of up to P350 million for her to quit the presidential race.