Sara Duterte’s HNP targets to achieve 110 campaign sorties

SUPERCOALITION Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (second, from left, front row), chair of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos of Ilocano Timpuyog, Sen. Cynthia Villar of the Nacionalista Party and other leaders of political parties formalize their alliance in a covenant-signing event in preparation for midterm elections in 2019. INQUIRER file photo / EARVIN PERIAS

MANILA, Philippines—The Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), regional party of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is set to conduct over 100 campaign events that will begin in the province of Pampanga on Feb. 12.

“HNP Campaign Caravan will do 110 events or less. (In) Luzon, Visayas (and) Mindanao,” Duterte-Carpio told INQUIRER.net in a text message on Friday.

Pampanga is the bailiwick of Gov. Lilia Pineda, chairman of regional party Kambilan, which sealed an alliance with the HNP last year.

The HNP’s campaign kick-off event is set in the cities of San Fernando and Angeles.

After the event in Pampanga, the party will hold campaign rallies in other areas of Central and Northern Luzon such as in Bataan, Pangasinan, Baguio, Vigan City, Laoag City, Isabela, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

According to the tentative schedule of the party, HNP will culminate the month of February with events in Metro Manila cities.

The presidential daughter’s party is endorsing 13 senatoriables in the coming May elections, namely: Senators Cynthia Villar, Koko Pimentel and Sonny Angara; former Senators Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito, Bong Revilla and Pia Cayetano; Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, former police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former Presidential aide Bong Go, former Presidential legal adviser Francis Tolentino and journalist Jiggy Manicad.

PDP-Laban’s MaBaGoKoTo

The 13 senatoriables HNP vowed to endorse include the five candidates of President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban party.

Nicknamed MaBaGoKoTo, the PDP-Laban’s Senate slate–Mangudadatu, Dela Rosa, Go, Pimentel and Tolentino–is set to hold its own campaign kick-off event in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

The event was initially set on Feb. 13 but will be moved on a later date to agree with Duterte’s schedule, Pimentel said.

“‘Yung Bulacan, gagalaw ata ang date due to (the) schedule of the President who we want to be present in the event,” the PDP-Laban president said.

Opposition slate

Meanwhile, the “Otso Diretso” senatorial slate, a coalition composed of opposition parties, recently announced that it will start its election campaign in Caloocan City and Naga City in Camarines Sur, on Feb. 12 and 13, respectively.

Backed by the Liberal Party, the Otso Diretso line-up is composed of Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, re-electionist Senator Bam Aquino, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, civic leader Samira Gutoc, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and former Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada. /jpv

READ: Otso Diretso kicks off campaign in Caloocan and Naga City