CEBU, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who are running for president and vice president, respectively, are wooing Cebuanos.
Cebu, a vote-rich province with over 3.2 million registered voters, is one of the main battlegrounds for the 2022 national polls.
They said they will work harder to get to the grassroots if they won’t be endorsed by the influential One Cebu party and President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I guess if we can’t get the endorsement we have to work harder and go to the grassroots because ang makapangyarihan talaga is yon individual voter, hindi naman yong endorsement coming from one particular official. Pero it does not mean na hindi naming kailangan ang endorsement ni Governor (Gwendolyn) Gwen (Garcia),” said Lacson.
The governor heads One Cebu, the dominant political party in the province.
While they welcome endorsements from Garcia and Duterte, they said they will not seek it.
“We will not be seeking it (endorsement) especially openly just like what one particular candidate is doing. We will not do it. People will endorse you because they respect you. You should earn it,” said Lacson.
Sotto said an endorsement from officials does not guarantee a win.
“…it does not guarantee, it is always the electorate’s endorsement of the people that matter,” Sotto said.
Sotto has been counting on Cebu as a bailiwick since his father is a pure Cebuano. His grandfather, the late Senator Vicente Sotto III, was among the most respected politicians to hail from Cebu.
Lacson, on the other hand, was hailed as an adopted son of the province via Cebu City Council Resolution passed in 1991. He served as commander of the Cebu Metropolitan District Command (Metrodiscom) from 1989 to 1992 during the administration of former President Corazon Aquino.
Lacson and Sotto led the blessing of their headquarters in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City and had dialogues with several sectors in the City of Naga, Cebu yesterday.
They were accompanied by senatoriables Monsour Del Rosario, Dra. Minguita Padilla and retired Police General Guillermo Eleazar. — KQD (FREEMAN)