La Union Gov. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III said the province will give its full support to presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his UniTeam because they see him as the “symbol of unity” that will help the country in recovering from the pandemic.
Ortega made the declaration Friday night in-front of a jampacked crowd at the Poro Point Baywalk in San Fernando during the UniTeam’s grand rally.
Meanwhile, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Marcos Jr. has called on the government to ensure the safety of Filipinos in war-torn Ukraine following Russia’s attack on its cities including the capital Kyiv.
“We have to get our countrymen there out of harm’s way. Let’s not wait for the aggression to escalate further. The DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) should speed up on the mass repatriation while we can still do so, especially with Russian forces allegedly targeting civilian areas,” he said.
According to the latest count of the DFA, there are some 260 Filipinos in Ukraine. Most of the overseas Filipino workers there are based in Kyiv.
Also, the UniTeam of Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said recently it intends to pursue legislative and policy reforms that will further ease doing business in the country, as part of its policy blueprint to revive the economy and promote job creation.
According to the latest World Bank-issued ‘Doing Business’ report in 2020, the Philippines ranks 95th, improving by 29 notches from its 124th position in 2019.
The Doing Business report serves as a reference for foreign investors on a particular country’s global competitiveness.
“Tunay na pagkakaisa at pag-unlad ng buong Pilipinas ang kanyang hangarin. Hawak niya ang mga pangarap at mithiin ng bawat Pilipino na kanyang dadalhin at tutuparin sa hinaharap,” Gov. Ortega said.
“Dahil dito nakuha niya ang suporta, tiwala at pagmamahal hindi lamang dito sa ating rehiyon, kundi sa lahat ng bahagi ng bansa,” he announced before introducing Marcos to his constituents.
The governor also assured the solid support of La Union to the UniTeam of Marcos and his running-mate vice presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte.
“For a stronger La Union, for a stronger Region 1 for a stronger Philippines nandito po ang idol ng buong Ilocandia. Ang rason kung bakit buhay na buhay ang solid north. Ang nag-iisa at karapat-dapat na susunod na pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas, Bongbong Marcos,” the governor added.
He explained that La Union is going all in for BBM because of his unifying call despite all the criticisms hurled against him.
“Sa gitna ng lahat hindi siya natitinag. Bagkus lalo pang umaangat. Lalo pang umaangat ang ating minamahal bilang simbolo ng pagkakaisa at pag-unlad,” Ortega added.
For his part, Marcos said that he and his UniTeam were overwhelmed over the warm reception of the people of La Union during their one-day campaign sortie in the province.
“Mababawi ko lamang ito sa pamamagitan ng pag-serbisyo sa taong-bayan sa pag-serbisyo sa inyo, pag-serbisyo sa bawat mamamayang Pilipino at pag-serbisyo sa Republika ng Pilipinas,” said Marcos.
The presidential bet also laid down his platform including his priority programs to recover from the pandemic.
He specifically mentioned the support in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), healthcare, agriculture, tourism, energy, infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and other programs that will create jobs for the Filipinos.
“Maraming-marami po tayong kailangang gawin para masabi na tayo ay naka-recover na dito sa krisis ng ekonomiya,” Marcos stressed.
But he insisted that we cannot achieve this recovery without the unity of the people in the entire country.
“Alam natin na kahit gaano kagaling, kahit gaano kasipag at kahit gaano katapat ang pagmamahal sa Pilipinas kung siya ay isang tao lamang (ay wala ring magagawa),” Marcos noted.
“Ang kailangan natin ay ang pagsasama-sama natin ipagbuklod- buklod nating lahat ng galing, lahat ng sipag, lahat ng bait at lahat ng kakayanan ng buong madlang Pilipino. Para kaya nating harapin ang lahat ng hamon na dadalhin ng kasaysayan dito sa ating bansang Pilipinas,” Marcos added.