United Nationalist Alliance party senatorial bet Jejomar Binay on Tuesday thanked former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and members of the Makabayan Bloc in Congress for supporting his candidacy.
“I am most grateful to former President Arroyo for her support. Likewise to the members of the Makabayan bloc. As I have said earlier, our task is to help our people recover from the pandemic, and to do this we need to gather the broadest support possible,” Binay said.
“I will repeat what I said before that even though the colors are different, the important thing is that we are united in the desire for our country and our countrymen,” he added.
Arroyo accompanied the former vice president in his campaign tour at the Pampanga Angeles Market and San Fernando Public Market in Pampanga. The two were joined by local officials and political leaders in the province.
The Makabayan bloc, on the other hand, announced in a press conference that it include the name of Binay in the list of candidates the group is supporting in the May 9 national and local elections.
Binay is a guest candidate in the senatorial tickets of Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquiao, and Senator Ping Lacson.
Sara Duterte-Carpio, former Davao city mayor and the running mate of former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also expressed her support for Binay’s candidacy.
Binay also received pledges of support from several local government officials during his campaign sorties.
The former vice president had said he intends to pursue legislation that would provide the needed government assistance for sectors adversely affected by the pandemic and the economic lockdown.
Binay earlier urged fellow candidates and their supporters to tone down the negative rhetoric in the closing weeks of the campaign. He said the focus should be on what needs to be done to help sectors affected by the pandemic.
“The coming years will not be easy, and it is important that we never lose our focus on what needs to be done to improve the lives of our countrymen who have been displaced by the pandemic,” Binay said.
“Partisan politics should take a backseat to the urgent task of rebuilding the country. We need to work together after the elections, but we cannot do that if the atmosphere has been poisoned by malice and animosity,” Binay said.
“I just want to stop the exchanging destructive words for the rest of the campaign period,” he added