‘It seems that the Robredo camp is prepared to go down the wire, even launching house-to-house campaigns powered mostly by volunteers to help bring her message to every Filipino family.
WITH barely a month to go until Filipinos troop to the polls on May 9, there are two things that presidential campaign teams may be doing these days: mustering the courage to tell their principals the writing on the wall, or gearing up to leave everything on the floor to ensure that they carry their principal to victory. Every serious presidential campaign runs its own surveys to measure its performance, as I mentioned in the past. By this time, teams should have a clear idea of where they are and where they are headed, and what needs to be done to change that course.
The last two weeks leading into election day are quite crucial to candidates who are in a viable position to win; I have seen several data sets from past surveys showing that a majority of voters tend to only make their choices days before the elections, with some saying that they make their choice when staring down the ballot in front of them. This is important for those within striking distance, to be able to intensify efforts on the ground to keep conversion going.
I had the opportunity to catch the Comelec-sponsored presidential debate last Sunday. As expected, only nine out of 10 candidates showed up, with the son of deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, again skipping the event. Moderator Ces Drilon said it best: “Deadma pa rin sa imbitasyon.” I suppose the Marcos team has consciously made the calculation that whatever negativity his absence from the debates might attract outweighs the risk of actually having him exposed on stage. With those survey numbers, I can’t blame them; but a repeated refusal to show up at these debates may have an unwarranted effect on his voters. After all, Filipinos hate cowards; we happen to love gunslinging, hot footing action heroes.
Sen. Ping Lacson continues to put up a brave fight, despite that nasty split with his political party. The loss of political allies in Mindanao is a difficult development in a campaign already struggling to stay above water. But knowing Sen. Lacson, he will soldier on, whatever obstacles come his way.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao seems to also be holding in place, and props to him for continuing to show up and state his piece. Among the presidential candidates, he has the biggest sway in Mindanao, the bailiwick of Mayor Sara Duterte. If Sen. Pacquiao holds, then he has a good chance of taking away votes from the Uniteam in Mindanao. But will he?
Ka Leody De Guzman unfortunately hasn’t made a dent, given the lack of resources and a message that resonates with a bigger swathe of the population, beyond the pro-labor movement. His fellows in the Left also do not seem to agree, as some of them have also professed support for VP Leni Robredo.
VP Robredo’s daughter Aika offered perhaps the best balm to Robredo supporters when she was asked by journalist Christian Esguerra whether the campaign was already in panic mode. VP Robredo, riding a massive outpouring of support for her rallies, still finds herself in second place behind Marcos. “Sa totoo lang, hindi ako kinakabahan because hindi naman ito unfamiliar place for us,” Aika Robredo said. “In 2016, nakita natin ‘yung gapang rin…in all honesty, hindi kami nagpapanic…within range of expectations siguro ‘yung lumalabas,” she continued. Aika, the eldest daughter of VP Robredo, was referencing to her mother’s come-from-behind victory in the vice-presidential election in 2016, which her mother won with a slim but a comfortable margin.
It seems that the Robredo camp is prepared to go down the wire, even launching house-to-house campaigns powered mostly by volunteers to help bring her message to every Filipino family. Only the polls will validate whether these efforts are effective or not, and we shall only have to wait for a few more weeks to see the end to a very divisive and vicious electoral season.
