Local officials of Ilocos Sur led by Narvacan Mayor Luis “Chavit” Singson Sr. on Thursday vowed to deliver more than 90 percent of the total votes in their province on May 9 to the UniTeam tandem of former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Singson, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), and his son Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Singson led the local officials in welcoming Marcos of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Duterte of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), who campaigned in Ilocos Sur and attended a grand rally at the Quirino Stadium here.
Marcos said he brought vice presidential bet Duterte to his home in Ilocos Norte and introduced her to his hometown folks like any Ilocano gentleman would.
In his speech during his homecoming-proclamation rally in Ilocos Norte late Wednesday with UniTeam candidates, Marcos admitted that he was accompanied by someone very special — Duterte.
“I came home with someone, someone I can be proud of to our ‘kakailian’, my partner in this campaign, in this fight for the forces of unity, the best one,” Marcos said in Tagalog as he began to introduce the Davao mayor to his very discerning kababayans at a campaign rally at the Paoay Sand Dunes.
Meanwhile, with just around 80 days before the May 9 elections, Marcos Jr. pulling further away from his rivals in the recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia clearly shows that his refusal to participate in some interviews did not affect his numbers.
In fact, his strategy to skip some media interviews might even have helped him increase his lead over his opponents, said political analyst Atty. Ed Chico in a radio interview.
The recent Pulse Asia survey conducted last January 19-24 showed Marcos improving by seven percent more compared with the previous survey result in December 2021. From 53 percent last December, Marcos garnered 60 percent in the latest Pulse Asia poll.
“All the towns here will vote for BBM-Sara. I estimate that more than 90% of votes (will be for them) because all officials here are united on that,” Singson said in Tagalog.
“Not only that, the volunteers were the first to pledge their support, and most of our elected officials have followed, not just here but across the country. I have gone around the country as the president of the League of Mayors of the Philippines. They are all the same,” the LMP chief told reporters in an ambush interview after the grand rally at the Quirino Stadium Thursday afternoon.
Singson’s promised all-out support includes resources for the elections.
Duterte expressed gratitude to all officials who have been extending support to her vice presidential bid and candidacies of the UniTeam candidates.
Some of the UniTeam senatorial candidates who joined Marcos-Duterte at the meet-and-greet at the Provincial Farmers Livelihood Development Center here were former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro, ex-presidential spokesman Harry Roque, lawyer Larry Gadon, and Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta.
The Ilocos Sur leaders’ commitment followed similar declarations made by Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Joseph Marcos Manotoc and mayors of the province on Wednesday and local executives in Cagayan Valley, including Governors Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano lll of Isabela and Manuel Mamba of Cagayan, on Tuesday and Monday, respectively.
The provincial visits are part of Mayor Duterte’s Mahalin Natin ang Pilipinas Ride (MNPR), a south-north journey for spreading UniTeam’s message of hope and unity, which she launched in Davao City early this month.
From Ilocos Norte, BBM’s home province, the journey took them Thursday to nearby Ilocos Sur, with stops in several towns, including Bad, Sinait, Cabugao, San Juan, Magsingal, Sto. Domingo, San Ildefonso, Bantay, and Narvacan, where Singson was scheduled to hold a grand rally for the UniTeam Alliance candidates late afternoon Thursday.