Bongbong to Pinoys: Protect votes from being stolen

GUIMBAL, Iloilo, Philippines — Presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos to cast and protect their votes on election day on Monday.

In his video message yesterday in the run-up to the May 9 national and local elections, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard bearer urged voters to make sure that the votes they will cast in polling precincts will be counted so that they would not be “stolen again.”

“Let us protect our decision and let us not allow our votes to be stolen again,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“We should participate in the election. It’s our sacred duty to our country because this is an important part in choosing who will lead after the electoral process,” he added.

Marcos made the same appeal to supporters of other presidential candidates.

“While I would be grateful if I get your trust, I encourage everyone to go out to your precincts and vote, even if you support other candidates,” he said.

The former senator likewise called on the public to unite amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the midst of crisis, let us unite and face the road to a better future. Let us not divide and let us support a leader who will bring us to a better future,” he said.

No sleeping with state enemies

Marcos will never sleep with the enemies of the state just to win in the election, according to his running mate and vice-presidential frontrunner Sara Duterte-Carpio, as she made a final pitch for the leading presidential candidate in their BBM-Sara UniTeam miting de avance here last Tuesday night.

“In this campaign, Bongbong Marcos never spoke with groups that want to bring the government down. In this campaign, he never had any agreement with people or groups that support those who want to bring down the government,” Carpio told the crowd of 200,000, as estimated by organizers.

“That is Bongbong Marcos. He won’t do that just to win. That’s why vote for him,” she added in Filipino.

President Duterte has tagged party-list groups belonging to the Makabayan bloc, which are supporting Vice President Leni Robredo’s candidacy, as “legal fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The presidential daughter only recalled the New People’s Army (NPA) attack in her city on April 28, 2017.

“Before they fled, they left a bomb that exploded and left a man dead,” she said.

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and Hugpong ng Pagbabago chair remembered seeing how nurses tried to save the victim, who died three days later. – Elizabeth Marcelo