The color blue flooded the Imus Grandstand and Track Oval in Cavite Tuesday as presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo Lacson and running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III kicked off their campaign for the May 9 elections.
Prior to the rally, Lacson and Sotto, along with their senatorial candidates—retired PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Dr. Minguita Padilla, and former Makati Rep. Monsour del Rosario—and their respective families attended a mass at the Imus Cathedral.
The candidates sought the guidance of the Lord Almighty for their electoral bids.
The mass was followed by a media briefing where Lacson and Sotto answered several issues confronting the country.
Although the endorsement of President Rodrigo Duterte is considered “gold,” Sotto said the Chief Executive—whose daughter is fellow vice presidential bet and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio—was not going to endorse anybody.
He said the President was letting the people choose for themselves. Sotto said he personally knew this because the President told him about it during a telephone conversation.
For his part, Lacson said whether or not Duterte would endorse anyone, it was the President’s prerogative.
“It’s his own decision, it’s his own view. Let’s leave it at that,” Lacson told reporters.
“We run as if nobody endorsed us, no celebrity. We will just educate the voters,” added the standard-bearer of Partido Reporma.
Lacson said most parts of their campaign would focus on grassroots consultations with ordinary folks in underprivileged areas.
He said this would give them “a first-hand account of the most common and ordinary problems and issues confronting our people.”
Banking on their campaign motto “Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng Bawat Pilipino (Fix the Government, Fix the Lives of Every Filipino)” and “Uubusin ang Magnanakaw (Get Rid of the Thieves),” Lacson said they would showcase “leadership by example” even in their campaigns.
“We will continue to strictly adhere to existing health protocols in areas that we will visit. We will not be part of the problem but of the solution. If the price of doing so is not being able to project ‘support’ through optics, we are willing to take that risk,” he said.
Lacson said they have been “prepared and ready to undergo the rigors of the 90-day campaign period.”
“We will keep it that way,” also said the former PNP chief.
Meanwhile, Lacson had something to say about debates and public fora.
“If you don’t know about something, read. If you don’t understand what you read, ask. If you are asking, listen. And if you listened, but still can’t absorb the idea, don’t even try debating about it.”
These were the tips Lacson gave to candidates, who are afraid to face fora or want to sharpen their skills at facing the public to present their thoughts or answer difficult questions during this election season.
He did not identify people who he believed were afraid to face a debate but did not mention either that those who issued out invitations limited themselves only to five of the 10 presidential aspirants given the go-ahead to run by the Commission on Elections.
Neither did he mention that there were similar debates conducted in the 2016 presidential and vice presidential elections.
To avoid embarrassment in joining a debate or discussion a candidate knows little of—“Turn off your internet so they don’t understand
what you’re saying,” Lacson said.
The former national police chief has stood out in recent “head-to-head” presidential interviews with the other candidates in the May 9 elections, giving straight, no-nonsense answers to serious national issues while fending off old propaganda and fake news against him, like the Kuratong Baleleng and Dacer-Corbito cases.
According to a report on netizens’ perceptions following the KBP Presidential Forum last Friday, Lacson got the highest positive
mentions at 24 percent and the lowest negative mentions at 18 percent, while 51 percent were neutral and 5 percent were unrated or undecided.
Several political analysts have also remarked that Lacson displayed the greatest readiness and skill in unveiling his platforms of governance and his plans for the country once he gains the Filipinos’ mandate as Chief Executive for the next six years.
In turn, the veteran law enforcer and lawmaker has lauded his excellent and hardworking staff and supporters to help him present his
ideas clearly to the public.
Whenever a forum ended, Lacson said he was happy.
“That indicates that you are satisfied with your work, with your performance. If you’re frowning after a forum, even if you say you’re satisfied, nobody will believe you. Then if you would have to explain, (and) you’ll have a lot of reasons, then it means you are not satisfied,” he said.
Lacson even noted he was grateful with difficult questions.
“I’m even grateful for them… because you don’t have to memorize the truth, Angel. If it’s falsehood, even if you memorize it, you will
falter.”
In a related development, Lacson and Sotto cautioned voters against COVID-19 and fake news during the political campaign season.
In a statement, the duo said: “The electorate also needs to be extra careful this year as it is an election like none other in the country’s history—not only because of the health threat of the global pandemic but also the specter of fake news and twisted facts that deceive voters, ruin candidates’ reputations, and deflect the beliefs of the public away from the truth.”
In an interview with dzRH on Monday, Lacson recounted how he suffered from this black propaganda himself, as he was accused of illicit gains while serving as national police chief so his initial bid for the Senate in 2001 would be derailed.
In their statement, Lacson and Sotto advised voters to study carefully the information being spread, especially on online platforms, of the candidates wooing them for their votes, as it could just be a ploy for persons who want to block the truth or undermine an opponent, so they
have a better chance at winning.”