Showing signs that he is the emerging “dark horse” in the May 9 presidential race, PROMDI presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao said that his sorties in Northern Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and Central Mindanao in the last three weeks of the campaign have galvanized the support of the country’s poor and the so-called silent majority on his bid for the presidency.
Asked in a news conference if he agrees with this tag given by political pundits, Pacquiao did not reject the idea that being a “dark horse” is the apt billing for him at this point of the campaign.
Inspired by the huge crowds of Filipinos who voluntarily attend his recent sorties in the Ilocos region, Leyte and Samar, Cebu, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga peninsula, and Misamis Oriental, Pacquiao said he expects the masses, comprising of ordinary and poor citizens, to spring up a surprise against survey-leading rivals.
Idolized by millions of Filipinos who are thankful for his sacrifices in the unprecedented honor he has given the country in international sports, Pacquiao will continue to barnstorm areas in Visayas and Mindanao.
Pacquiao is the only Visayan-speaking and Mindanaoan candidate among the presidential bets.
After his sorties in Central Mindanao, Pacquiao is in Cebu for a series of caravans and “people’s rallies.”
“You saw the crowd for yourself, they were not fetched; neither snacks nor water was offered. They waited for almost a day starting in the afternoon until we arrived late at 10:30 yet they were still there, almost 30,000 of them,” he said.
Pacquiao’s motorcaravan that proceeds to rally sites is always held up by the thick crowd of supporters waiting for him along the streets during all his campaign events.
In his rallies, Pacquiao did not have big-time celebrities to draw crown and only had his wife Jinkee who often belts a song or two to entertain his supporters.
The well-loved Mindanaoan senator explained that Filipinos representing the “D and E” class have grown tired and unconvinced of the promises of a better life from traditional candidates.
Pacquiao has vowed to strongly pursue his strategy of ending corruption in government to retrieve huge government funds that will finance a massive free housing program for the homeless and beef up the economy to provide jobs to the unemployed.
Pacquiao has blamed corruption as the real reason why the country remains very poor and Filipinos continue to wallow in extreme poverty.