Miriam Santiago tells youth to protect their ballots

Presidential aspirant Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago concluded her three-month campaign on Saturday with an appeal to her supporters to protect their ballots on Monday’s elections.

“Bantayan natin pagkatapos ng Lunes ang ating nga balota dahil Bongbong and I might win in the voting but we might lose in the counting,” she said in her speech to a crowd of hundreds in front of her official headquarters in Quezon City.

A miting de avance was not set up by Santiago’s camp. A few days earlier, she said that such events were “useless” because those who attend it are paid by candidates. Her volunteers, the Youth For Miriam Movement, decided to organize a street party and the senator only decided to attend at the last minute.

She was joined in by her running mate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at their final campaign.

Santiago said that they are the only party that did not buy or steal votes, which gave an impression that her rivals were doing otherwise.

“Tayo ang partido na hindi nagnakaw ng pera,” she told the audience.

She also alleged that money was being distributed in the Liberal Party miting de avance in the nearby Quezon City Circle.

“Ang pera ay ginagamit kasalukuyan sa Quezon City Circle. Dumaan ako at kitang-kita mga babae na may hawak-hawak na envelope…..Konti lang tayo kumpara sa nasa Circle” she said, as the crowd responded with “Hindi kami bayad!”

She also warned the youth of electing corrupt people in office which would they have to deal with in the next few years.

“Sige pabayaan ko kayo sa Lunes bumoto kayo ng corrupt na gobyerno. Tapos sa susunod na anim na taon ang reklamong walang hanggan,” she said.

The senator, who made most of her appearances in universities where she is popular, called on the youth to bring her to the highest post in the land.

“You represent 20 million young voters or 40 percent of the total 54 million voters on May 9. United, our numbers are enough to bring us to Malacañang. But imagine how epic our victory will be if, like you, each of these 20 million Filipinos held the flame of shared destiny aloft,” she said.

‘We have already won’

Marcos, despite warnings of possible cheating by the administration, claimed victory in their final campaign.

“Dalawang araw na lang, panalo na!” he told the crowd.

READ: Marcos crisscrosses PH in one day, vows victory

He thanked their followers for their support in the last few months of the campaign, and at the same time taunted his rivals for being “desperate.”

“Desperado na ang ibang nagpapatulong sa ibang kandidato. Pinagwi-withdraw dahil sila alam nilang wala na silang pag-asa. Nandito ang pag-asa,” he said referring to his running mate Santiago.

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Bongbong Marcos join supporters in a street party outside their campaign headquarters in West Triangle, Quezon City. LEO SABANGAN

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