UniTeam supporters in Marikina on Saturday vowed to protect the votes which will be cast for presidential frontrunner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. in the coming May 9 elections.
“We will not allow you to be deceived!” the crowd shouted in unison, interrupting the speech of Marcos Jr., during a grand rally held at the Marikina City Amphitheater on Saturday evening.
The audience were alluding to the alleged cheating incident in 2016 when Marcos lost against Vice President Leni Robredo.
The BBM-Sara UniTeam held a rally on Saturday with supporters excitedly awaiting for them as early as 5 a.m. bringing with them their posters and tarpaulins.
“We were here early, maybe around 5 a.m. We arrived here just in time, that’s how much we love BBM and Sara, we fully support them, we are all in the solid BBM-Sara family,” according to a group of supporters.
The heavy rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of UniTeam supporters as they opted to stay and patiently waited for the arrival of Marcos, his running-mate Inday Sara Duterte and their senatorial slate.
“Thank you very much, UniTeam is really shocked, your reception for here in Marikina was very warm, it’s already raining, but your reception is still warm, when I entered earlier, there were a lot of people,” said Marcos, standard bearer of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.
Marcos Jr. meanwhile urged Filipinos to respect each other’s freedom to choose the candidate they want to support in the forthcoming May 9, 2022 elections.
The UniTeam presidential bet made the appeal after noting the increase in vitriolic exchanges among supporters of competing candidates on various social media platforms, barely more than a month before the national polls.
“There is no reason for us to fight with one another over whom to support in the coming elections. Let’s respect each other’s freedom to choose. My response to hateful speech has always been to maintain a dignified silence because bickering is a waste of time,” Marcos said.
A recent pre-election survey results done by polling firms Laylo Research, Pulse Asia, and PUBLiCUS Asia show Marcos and Duterte are still ahead of their respective rivals by significant margins.
His consistent strong showing in pre-election surveys since last year up to the present had political pundits convinced that a large portion of the country’s electorate has already chosen to elect the first majority president in Philippine history.