Batangas, Mindoro vow landslide win for BBM, Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — The governors of Batangas and Mindoro have committed to support the tandem of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vice presidential aspirant Sara Duterte.

Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, Occidental Mindoro Gov. Eduardo Gadiano and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor all vowed big victory in their respective provinces on May 9 for the survey frontrunners in the presidential and vice presidential elections.

Mandanas said he and allies in the province decided to support the tandem dubbed as “BBM-Sara UniTeam” because of their message of hope, healing and unity.

“They are the ones I believe who have the capability and vision for us to unite and work together, which we all need at this time – not mudslinging and crab mentality. We need to elevate the honor of Filipinos and they will be the leaders to do that,” he told reporters in Filipino during a campaign sortie in Lipa City last Wednesday.

“Almost the entire Philippines understands that the BBM-Sara UniTeam will serve and provide what Filipinos really need,” he added.

Gadiano made the same commitment during the grand rally in Mamburao earlier in the day.
“We can deliver… Almost all residents here are supporters of BBM,” Gadiano said, adding that there is also a big Ilocano community in their province.

Just like Mandanas, he also believed that the unity being espoused by Marcos is the best approach a leader should take in addressing the country’s problems.

Dolor, for his part, said he supports Marcos’ candidacy because he has contributed heavily for the progress of their province in the past years.

“Of all the candidates for president, only Bongbong had the most contributions to Oriental Mindoro,” the governor said as recalled all the road projects he asked Marcos for help.

Dolor bared that Marcos has also always been there when the province is in need of assistance.

In response, Marcos expressed appreciation to the governors and all supporters of UniTeam in the Southern Tagalog provinces.

“Thank you for your untiring love and support. I also thank you for your warm welcome not just to us candidates but more importantly to the message of unity that we bring,” the former senator told the crowd.

In his speech in the Batangas rally, Marcos vowed to lower the high electricity costs in the country, explaining that the fastest way to propel the province to progress and development is to ensure affordable power rates.

The rallies in Mindoro and Batangas last Wednesday and in Laguna yesterday followed the record-breaking grand rally in Cebu last Monday where over 300,000 people joined and where Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia committed to deliver a landslide victory with over 1.2 million margin for Marcos and Duterte.

The camp of Marcos earlier announced that 73 out of the country’s 81 governors have already committed support to his presidential bid.

Showdown of force

Meanwhile, the Marcos-Duterte tandem will hold a grand rally in Manila tomorrow – an event that will coincide with the grand rally set by the camp of rival presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo in Pasay City and in what could be a showdown of force in Metro Manila.?

Marcos’ spokesman Vic Rodriguez said the UniTeam will join the rally arranged by their allies in the capital city led by mayoralty bet Alex Lopez.

He clarified that there is no scheduled activity of UniTeam in ASEANA grounds in Parañaque City or Mall of Asia in Pasay City, contrary to what was being circulated on social media in the past days.?

“We have never scheduled a rally on that day and in that vicinity. We shall be in the city of Manila on Saturday to be joined by our local allies led by Alex Lopez,” Rodriguez told The STAR.

The camp of Robredo, on the other hand, already announced their grand rally along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City tomorrow afternoon.

The two camps have been engaged in a battle of crowds in their grand rallies.

Robredo’s biggest rally so far was in Pampanga, which was attended by 220,000 people as claimed by organizers.