THE townhall meeting of presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson in Bangued, Abra was attended only by a few hundreds of his supporters, which the senator said was expected because many of his backers are allegedly “living in fear” due to threats from local officials.
Lacson said that upon arrival in Bangued, his local coordinators “warned” him not to expect a huge crowd like what he and his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III have been getting in their campaigns in other areas.
“I was briefed by our coordinators. Sabi nila this is a test. Hindi ko sinasabing naniniwala ako sa kanila. Sabi nila test ito kasi dito talagang maraming living in fear kasi nga may naka-hang na threat mula sa mga naka-upo. Hindi ko sinasabing gospel truth kong tinatanggap ang kanilang explanation (I was briefed by our coordinators. I am not saying that I believe in them. They said this [townhall meeting] will be a test because many residents are living in fear because there is a threat from the sitting officials. I did not accept as gospel truth what they told me),” Lacson said.
“I was already expecting na hindi ganoon karami ang tao because I was already warned na hindi sila confident na maraming tao ang darating kasi marami rito ganoon ang situation (I was already expecting that there will be less people who will attend the townhall meeting because I was already warned, my coordinators told me they are not confident that many people will arrive because many of them are experiencing that kind of situation),” he added.
The townhall meeting was only attended by around 500 to 600 people, unlike in past sorties which were attended by thousands.
Lacson said his coordinators likewise said barangay chiefs could have influenced residents to skip the townhall meeting since there is reportedly a P10 million reward for the barangay chairman who can deliver a straight vote for certain candidates.
“There is allegedly a contest in each barangay, that if the barangay chairman delivers a straight vote, he or she will receive something like P10 million,” he said.
Lacson said he talked with the local police commander who denied his coordinators’ report.
Despite the low attendance, Lacson said he is confident that he can still get votes in the province with the help of Partido Reporma local candidates who have chosen to continue to back his candidacy.
