CATARMAN, Northern Samar – The UniTeam Alliance led by presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” opened their campaign swing in Eastern Visayas, drawing another huge crowd for the leading candidates at a Friday rally.
Marcos and his team members took turns addressing the crowd at the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) grandstand, with the former senator later telling his supporters he would stay despite the heavy rains because, he said, “walang iwanan.”
Rain-soaked supporters trooped to the UEP Grandstand and waited as early as 6 a.m. to hear Marcos and other candidates speak.
Several days of rain brought by the low pressure area transformed the huge field in front of the UEP Grandstand into a mud field yet more than half of it was still filled with supporters clad in red and green standing under the rain.
While awaiting BBM’s arrival, the crowd sang and danced to the Bagong Lipunan song and other UniTeam jingles, waving red and blue flags.
Vice gubernatorial candidate Capo Carpio, a former Catarman mayor, introduced Marcos Jr. to his constituents.
Carpio highlighted UniTeam’s message of unity, saying Marcos continues to enjoy wide voter support despite concerted efforts to bring him down.
Speaking mostly in Filipino, he told the crowd: “This is the man we’ve been waiting for. His vision is national unity. That is why he walks with the Filipino people who believe in him. This is the man everyone’s talking about, the frontrunner. The one they want to put down but who continues to soar. The hottest candidate for president. The Tiger of the North. The next president of the Philippines, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos.”
Carpio is running for governor under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the political group to which BBM belongs.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who represented Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, said the people should vote for Marcos and Duterte to ensure the continuity of the Duterte administration’s programs.
Dela Rosa said Mayor Duterte will be a plus to Marcos’ team because she will support his major plan to help Filipinos recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic and address other problems of the nation.
Rep. Ong: Not a sin
Meanwhile, the incumbent representative of the second congressional district of Northern Samar called on Samarnons to come out in the open to show their support for the BBM-Sara Uniteam, especially for standard-bearer Marcos, Jr.
Cong. Jose ‘Jun’ Ong Jr. told the crowd:
“’Wag niyong itago na sinusuportahan ninyo si BBM, ‘wag kayong matakot na ipakita ito. Dapat maging proud kayo. It is not a sin to support BBM,” Ong told the crowd who did not let the rain stop them from attending the UniTeam’s rally in Catarman, Samar.
‘Running scared’ mindset
Marcos and Mayor Duterte have agreed to split up in the homestretch of the election campaign so they can revisit more areas and reach out to remote communities.
Mayor Sara has said they maintain a “running scared mindset” despite the huge survey lead they enjoy over rivals.
From Northern Samar, the UniTeam was scheduled to visit Eastern Samar, Samar and Biliran provinces.
They are scheduled to campaign in Leyte on Saturday.