SUPPORTERS of the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem from various provinces are now apparently trying to outdo each other.
After 47,000 people attended the tandem’s rally in Cavite last Friday, opposition presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan drew another huge crowd in a campaign rally in Malolos City, Bulacan on Saturday night.
About 45,000 people attended the “People’s Rally” held at the grounds just outside the new Malolos City hall.
Bulacan is fifth on the list of the top vote-rich provinces in the country, with just over 2 million registered voters.
The “competition” began after large crowds attended the tandem’s rallies in Cebu and Iloilo, where former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia had a mini concert.
Last Friday, after 19 hours of stumping through Cavite, Robredo drew 47,000 people to the General Trias Sports Park in Cavite, her biggest campaign crowd yet.
The Malolos rally was the culmination of the Bulacan sortie which included stops in San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria, Bocaue, and Guiguinto.
Robredo’s first stop that morning was in San Jose Del Monte city where over a thousand supporters clad in pink welcomed her bright and early to Barangay Minuyan IV.
“’Mga puyat for Leni.’ Kasama ako diyan (Sleepless for Leni. Me, too),” said the opposition leader, reading a handmade placard out loud. “Lahat kami dito sa stage, puyat dahil nasa Cavite po kami hanggang hatinggabi hanggang madaling araw. Pero kahit puyat, masayang masaya kami kasi kasama namin kayong lahat ngayong (All of us here on stage had little sleep to no sleep because the Cavite rally reached early until early morning. But despite that, we’re so happy to be with you).”
Robredo then headed to Guiguinto, Bulacan to meet privately with the Carmelite sisters, after which she joined hundreds of supporters, including religious leaders and the clergy, in praying the Holy Rosary at the Immaculate Concepcion Major Seminary.
She led the rosary’s fifth joyful mystery, and later asked everyone to fight disinformation and fake news.
“We know that when the Church acts, the people will be able to discern what’s right from wrong out of respect for the clergy. This is concept of ‘radical love’ that we’re advocating for,” she said in Filipino.
In Malolos, Robredo joined Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando and Sen. Joel Villanueva in paying tribute to over 3,000 mothers at the assembly of Lingkod Lingap sa Nayon, Mother Leaders of Bulacan, in celebration of International Women’s Month.
The evening rally was headlined by iconic band Truefaith, who, like other celebrities participating in Robredo’s sorties, performed for free. Veteran singer Kuh Ledesma said she, too, was not paid to participate in the rally.
PAID?
Deputy speaker Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla of Cavite alleged that those who attended the General Trias rally were paid P500 each by a politician he did not identify.
“May politiko na nagbabayad ng limang daan sa bawat a-attend (A politician is paying P500 to everyone who attended), Remulla said in a program aired over dzRH last Saturday.
Remulla said the organizers of the event may have spent as much as P8 million. He said people were obviously paid to come to the rally because they were mobilized, complete with service vehicles like jeepneys, a staging area and pink shirts.
Remulla also said a local survey has shown that 64 percent of Cavite voters prefer Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. while only 15 percent are for Robredo.
TOOLS
An official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines warned members of the clergy to make sure they are not being used as tools for partisan politics.
“Elections will pass, but how some Church people behave politically right now will have repercussions on the Church later,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Committee on Public Affairs.
He said clergymen must make sure that they are not compromising the Church’s non-partisan position when they make their political endorsements.
“Our loyalty lies in the institution that calls us to a life of service. We should never allow ourselves to be used as tools for partisan politics,” he added.
He urged his colleagues to instead concentrate on forming consciences for a mature political exercise while leaving the endorsement to the lay faithful.
“Let the people decide who to them is the best after being guided, formed, and informed through a series of discernment,” said Secillano. — With Gerard Naval
