Independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson predicted a come-from-behind victory for him and his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
In an interaction with supporters in Malabon City, Lacson raised the possibility of pulling a major upset during the May 9 fueled by ‘silent supporters.’
Lacson said he met lots of people who informed him they were secretly campaigning for him and Sotto regardless of their standings in the pre-election polls.
He quoted their supporters as saying; “Every time we go to a place… No matter how distant from the capital, whether in a city or a far-flung rural town… There would be people who would come to us and whisper—there’s a lot of them— ‘Senator, Mr. Senate President, we are just here. We are your silent supporters.”
The senator also said he could no longer count how many of those people personally came to him to pledge their support.
According to him, such gestures of support fueled his resolve to stay in the presidential race without relying too much on the endorsement of particular groups or politicians.
“We have so many silent supporters. They told us, they might be surprised that on May 9, we will be there. When we go to the polling booth, they would be really surprised that what will come out of our ballots are votes for Lacson-Sotto.”
One of the town hall forum participants who attended his public gathering at the Atis Covered Court in Potrero, Malabon, said he was also present in the political rallies of other presidential tandems, but it was his first-time to engage in a conversation with potential future leaders in Lacson and Sotto.
Lacson and Sotto campaigned in the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela together with one of their senatorial candidates Dr. Minguita Padilla.
The presidential bet reiterated that they really opted to hold dialogues with the people instead of huge rallies to establish two-way communication.
Lacson urged the voters to put a premium on the competence, experience and track record of all candidates when they go to the polling places to elect their next sets of national and local government leaders.
Lacson also endorsed the senatorial bids of former national police director-general Guillermo Eleazar and former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol, who are part of his core team throughout the campaign period.
Lacson likewise mentioned the names of two of their guest senatorial candidates such as former Senators Joseph Victor ‘JV’ Ejercito and Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan II. “Let us not forget about them,” he said.