Lacson still hopeful of winning despite low ratings

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Despite the latest survey results, presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson remains hopeful in his bid for the top elective post just like what happened to him when he first ran for the Senate and won.

Lacson recalled his first attempt to run for the Senate in 2004, when he never made it to the top 12 in surveys, but managed to get a seat and serve his first six-year term.

He again ran and won in 2010 and 2019.

“Look, when I first ran for the Senate, my approval trust rating was hitting 78 percent, but when I filed my certificate of candidacy, I was subjected to a lot of black propaganda, courtesy of then-president Gloria Arroyo, whose support was reduced. In the surveys. I never landed in the magic 12, but I won,” Lacson told reporters at a press conference after his town hall meeting with multi-sectoral groups at the Lamberto Macias Sports Complex here.

Lacson lamented that the recent survey indicated that he had zero believers in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“I had zero vote apparently in the Visayas and Mindanao. I had zero vote in Dumaguete. It didn’t look zero to me,” he told the crowd at the sports complex with about 4,500 people.

“And so are Aklan, Iloilo, Antique, Samar in many places we’ve been to in the entire Visayas, Regions 6, 7 and 8 … not just the attendees, but the manner of reception, enthusiasm and all, the engagement is surely not looking zero,” he added.

The report that he had zero believers in the Visayas and Mindanao would not give justice to the effort of his volunteers, who have been working hard to help him in disseminating his campaign programs.

Lacson also revealed that the last four remaining campaign days would focus on communication or media messaging, especially on social media, where other candidates are apparently having edge over him.

“In fact last week, I issued some kind of a marching order to our chat group. I told them to penetrate even the far-flung areas and relay the message that your vote will not be wasted. We’ve been hearing people converting (their presidential bets),” he said.

“I can’t really understand for the life of me what happened to my 17 million votes in the last (senatorial) elections. Why there are only two percent, but of course I don’t want to question the integrity of the survey firm, but I really can’t believe that it is only two percent,” he added.

Lacson also expressed belief that the town hall meeting is working and helping him advance his political campaign, “otherwise, the people will not listen and will not stay, and they will not nod their heads.”

He recalled that at their town hall in Naga City in Camarines Sur, which is known as “Robredo country,” some people approached him and told him they have switched their presidential bets.

More time with Pinoys

With five days to go before election day, Lacson said he is choosing to spend more time with the Filipino people, who keep showing up for his town hall meetings in the final stretch of the national campaign period.

Regardless of the size of the crowds, Lacson said he is bent on being a statesman, opting to engage the public through interactive dialogues. This way, he could capitalize on the opportunity to explain his campaign platforms at length and how they can benefit a certain demographic.

Lacson thanked thousands of his supporters who came to see him, his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III and senatorial aspirant Emmanuel Piñol in Nasugbu, Batangas to discuss their thoughts about national issues.

“No fakery involved in the number of crowds who attended our town hall meeting with TitoSen in Nasugbu, Batangas earlier this afternoon. Thank you for your meaningful questions and discussions about the different issues of our nation,” Lacson said in Filipino on Twitter, replying to the crowd photos of his Batangas sortie.

He highlighted three of his main campaign platforms, namely the Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment or BRAVE program, internal cleansing of the national government to remove corruption and the digitalization of all government transactions.

The tandem also talked about their plans on the war on drugs, foreign policy, minimum wage, housing projects for homeless families, programs for senior citizens, job opportunities for the youth sector, as well as their economic policies, especially towards the recovery of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Lacson held similar activities for his scheduled visits to the cities of Bacolod, Bais and Dumaguete in the Negros yesterday.

He noted that his preference for holding town hall meetings was driven by his desire to establish two-way communication with the Filipinos. – Paolo Romero