PROMDI presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao yesterday said he will use the remaining days of the campaign period to go around the country to rally for support from poor Filipinos, who he believes will determine the result of this year’s presidential election.
Pacquiao, together with senatorial bet Lutz Barbo, is now in Pangasinan as one of the guests of the State of Municipality Address (SOMA) of Binmaley Mayor Sammy Rosario and the inauguration of the town’s evacuation center.
Pacquiao also went around Lingayen before doing a motorcade in the vote-rich San Carlos.
His team is also scheduled to conduct sorties in Dagupan City, Malasiqui, and Urdaneta. Before that, Pacquiao went around the City of San Jose Del Monte and Caloocan.
“As much as possible I want to go around as much as I can,” Pacquiao said, as he belittled the results of recent surveys because it does not represent the sentiment of the country’s poor.
He said those who are really poor are not included in these surveys.
“Those who are struggling in life are looking for someone who wants to help them. Those who really want genuine change,” the boxing legend said.
Pacquiao said he has high hopes that he can now campaign better after the government downgraded the COVID-19 alert level of most parts of the country to level 1.
He said this decision should prompt the Commission on Elections to relax restrictions not only on political campaigns but also on the day-to-day activities of ordinary Filipinos, as long as they continue to observe minimum health and safety protocols.
He expressed hope that Comelec would relax restrictions since we are already at level 1 “so that it will be easier for us to campaign. Candidates also need to shake hands and do fist bumps for their supporters.”
“I can’t understand why even the giving of shirts is wrong. I just hope that Comelec will reconsider its rules so that we can have credible elections,” said Pacquiao.