THE tandem of Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who are running for president and vice president respectively, yesterday got a boost after big transport groups threw their support for their candidacies.
In a phone interview, Ka Obet Martin said that aside from Pasang Masda, which he heads, other transport groups allied with his group are also backing the Lacson-Sotto tandem because of their platform of government.
Martin said the other transport groups include the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Altodap), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO), and the UV Express Federation of Pasig City.
Martin said Pasang Masda has more than 150,000 members nationwide, while Altodap, ACTO, and the UV Express Federation of Pasig City have a combined membership of more than 400,000.
“Nakita namin kila Senator Lacson at Senator Sotto ang magandang program para sa ating gobyerno kaya namin sila susuportahan (We saw in Senators Lacson and Sotto good programs for our government that’s why we have decided to give them our support),” Martin said.
He said their group invited Lacson and Sotto to a motorcade that covered seven cities in Metro Manila on Sunday, which coincided with the commemoration of Labor Day.
Lacson and Sotto thanked Martin and the other transport groups for supporting on them.
“They said na they observed kung sinong tandem ang susuportahan nila at kami ang napili nila (They said that they have been observing which tandem to support and they chose us),” Lacson said in a press conference in their campaign headquarters in Greenhills, San Juan after the motorcade.
Lacson said the reception of the crowd in the places they passed was spontaneous even if they caused minor traffic jams.
Sotto said he has not heard anyone shout invectives at them for creating minor traffic jams.
“Wala akong narinig na masama, at walang sumisigaw na ibang pangalan. Yung iba minumura habang dumadaan ang motorcade. Sa amin wala kaming napuna, unless na may napuna kayo. Walang kumontra sa amin
(I did not hear bad words from the crowd, and no one cheered for a different candidate [as we passed]. Other motorcades have been cursed but we have not noticed that in our motorcade unless you have noticed otherwise. No one showed their dislike to us),” Sotto said.
Lacson earlier said they prefer doing townhall meetings as a form of campaigning rather than hiring entertainers or doing motorcades in campaign sorties, but he said he and Sotto accepted the invitation of the big transport groups for a motorcade “for practical reasons.”
“Naka ‘oo’ na kami sa Pasang Masda eh, kapag hindi namin sinipot ay sayang naman, magtatampo sila. So, for practical reasons, dapat sumama kami (We have said ‘yes’ to the invitation of Pasang Masda and if we don’t appear in their motorcade [for us] they might have ill-feelings towards us. So, for practical reasons, we opted to join [the motorcade]),” he added.
Meanwhile, Lacson said he is almost 100 percent sure that he cannot attend the panel interview organized by the Commission on Elections since his campaign schedule is very tight until May 7, the last day of the campaign when “miting de avances” are held.
Sotto is scheduled to attend the Comelec panel interview on May 4.
Lacson said his not attending the panel interview should not be misinterpreted that he is shying away from it.
“On May 4, we will be in Negros Oriental. Hindi ako nagtatago sa interview dahil alam ko naman ang sasabihin ko kasi nag-aaral ako. Nakakasa na kasi dati nung April 24 kaso nabago ang schedule (On May 4, we will be in Negros Oriental. I am not shying away from the interview because I know what I will answer to the possible questions because I study.
My schedule would have allowed me to attend on April 24 but the schedule was changed),” he said.
