Door-to-door campaign

After a month of shaking hands, doing “selfies” with every Pedro, Juan and Maria, the rag-tag senatorial ticket of the opposition collectively called as Otso Diretso have found themselves now easily recognized by the people. Although the ticket’s name “Otso Diretso” has already stuck in the minds of Filipinos, their individual names though remain difficult to recall for many of their potential voters.   

But no worries, says Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who is again for the third time is the designated national campaign manager of the Liberal party (LP)-led opposition senatorial ticket. Pangilinan believes the “stickiness” of their Otso Diretso campaign monicker would eventually translate to the winnability of their senatorial bets come election day on May 13 this year.

With less than 12 candidates, it would seem to be an easy task to spearhead the campaign for Otso Diretso. Guess again.

The Otso Diretso candidates are: comebacking Sen. Mar Roxas II (ex-LP president); election lawyer Romulo Macalintal; Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano; ex-LP Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada; dean of the La Salle College of Law and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno (independent); ex-Solicitor-General Florin Hilbay of Aksyon Demokratiko; Muslim woman leader Samira Gutoc of Tindig Pilipinas; and, LP re-electionist Bam Aquino.

But only Tañada and Gutoc, along with Pangilinan, visited us for a roundtable talk with editors and reporters at The Philippine STAR editorial office last Monday night. Their visit came two days after the overnight campaign sortie of the Otso Diretso in Hong Kong with VP Robredo. Hong Kong happens to be one of the places in countries that host thousands of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are qualified to join the overseas voting that would take place from April 13 to May 13.

Pangilinan who is also currently the LP president, has been joining the Otso Diretso in the campaign trail along with Vice President Robredo as the national chairperson of LP.

At this stage since the national campaign period started last Feb. 12, Pangilinan sees his task to “connect” the growing Otso Diretso’s popularity to their eight candidates – six of whom are relatively unknown to Filipino electorates, many of whom are biased toward popular celebrity/showbiz candidates. “Hopefully, we can bring their awareness level within striking distance,” he quipped. As part of their awareness campaign, Pangilinan cited, the Otso Diretso ticket has been doing media rounds like the roundtable they had with us at The STAR.

Gutoc noted with high hopes how she is now popularly known and called out as an Otso Diretso candidate. A Maranao like President Rodrigo Duterte, Gutoc broke away from his administration where she once served as member of the defunct Bangsamoro Transition Commission that crafted the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law. The 44-year-old Gutoc first gained national prominence when she made a dramatic appeal before leaders and members of the 17th Congress to address the reported abuses being committed on the Bangsamoro people following the imposition of martial law in Mindanao in the aftermath of the Maute siege in Marawi City.

With a gregarious personality, Gutoc is not talking with empty rhetoric though when she raised the issue of displaced families evacuated out of Marawi City during the siege. Gutoc herself was among those evacuees. This is why she vows to ensure the Marawi rehabilitation would get the necessary legislative support, especially on budget matters that she can do if elected at the Senate.

Relatively unknown in the national consciousness, Gutoc is no stranger though to politics. She also once served as a regional assembly member of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). She recently joined LP but she wore that night a green-colored hijab that matched the green T-shirt worn by Tañada.     

Although LP is identified with yellow color, Tañada quickly clarified green has been his campaign color since he ran and became Congressman. Green, he explained, represents his advocacy for Philippine agriculture, especially for the cause and benefit of Filipino farmers.

Unlike Gutoc, Tañada comes from an old political name that many Filipino elders most profoundly associate with the late Sen. Lorenzo Tañada. His father is Sen. Wigberto “Bobby” Tañada. The Tañadas became known for their staunch defense of democratic ideals and fighting for human rights and exercise of all freedoms enshrined in our country’s 1987 Constitution. He has established his own legacy as a Congressman from Quezon Province who served for three consecutive terms.

The 55-year-old Erin has been wishing to become also a Senator. Despite being a loyal card-bearing member of the LP, Erin was twice denied a slot in the 12-man LP slate. Out of respect for the party leadership decision, Erin gave way for coalition senatorial bets during the May 2013 and May 2016 elections. 

It may be a blessing in disguise for Erin who is now running for the Otso Diretso, with Pangilinan again at the helm of the LP campaign machinery. According to Pangilinan, the LP juggernaut that carried former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III during the May 2010 presidential elections remains intact. He said the former president is helping steer to victory the Otso Diretso senatorial ticket and will join them in key campaign areas.

But beating the administration senatorial ticket would be a tough challenge for the opposition candidates, given the popularity of President Duterte still in double digits. The former Davao City Mayor himself is an astute politician whose long experience in local campaign would surely boost his anointed bets.

Like Mayors, Pangilinan disclosed, the Otso Diretso candidates have knocked on 100,000 doors so far in their door-to-door campaign around the country for the first month of the campaign period. Pangilinan’s own Project: Makinig have beefed up their campaign with volunteers going with their candidates on the door-to-door conversations with voters. And eventually, this will open the doors for them to the Senate.