Leni Robredo: Crowds don’t win elections

A crowd of more than 10,000 filled the Guingona Park in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte on Wednesday, March 9 for the Grand People’s Rally for presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. The event concludes Robredo’s two-day barnstorm in Caraga Region. (VP Leni Media Bureau)

BUTUAN CITY, Agusan del Norte — At a rally attended by over 10,000 of her supporters at the Guingona Park here on Wednesday night, Vice President Leni Robredo reminded them that huge crowds do not win elections as she urged everyone to join the campaign on the ground and help fight fake news online.

“When you return home, don’t say, ‘We already won because there were many of us tonight.’ We’re not like that,” Robredo said at the political gathering that culminated her grueling sorties with running mate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

For two days, the tandem crisscrossed the Caraga region, attending a dozen campaign activities organized by their volunteers.

“While we still have time, let’s go out. Talk to your relatives, friends, and neighbors. Convince them. Remind them that this election … is not just a contest of candidates,” Robredo said.

“We will decide in this election the road that our country will take. But if we don’t put up a fight, we cannot expect changes [in the government],” she added.

Fighting disinformation

Robredo’s campaign has surprised even her own team as their political rallies, organized by her supporters who fondly call themselves “kakampinks,” have drawn the biggest crowds this election season despite the pandemic.

With less than two months to go before the May 9 general elections, the Vice President was aware of the challenging task of sustaining the momentum of her campaign.

“We know that our No. 1 enemy now is disinformation,” she said. “Fake news is rampant. We want to ask your help in correcting them online.”

But she reminded her supporters not to get into fights “because if we do that, nobody will listen to us.”

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