PRESIDENTIAL frontrunner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. and his running mate Inday Sara Duterte capped the official campaign period with a very successful miting de avance attended by what they estimated to be over 1 million supporters at the Solaire open grounds in Parañaque City on Saturday.
The duo’s campaign, which kicked off last February 8, 2022, ended on a high note as the miting de avance demolished all previous crowd estimates in the nationwide sorties during the 90-day campaign trail, the UniTeam campaign headquarters said.
Marcos, number 7 in the Comelec official ballot and forecasted as runaway winner in all major surveys, thanked supporters in their third and last miting de avance.
Earlier, the BBM-Sara UniTeam also held miting de avance in Visayas (May 3 in Guimbal, Iloilo) and in Mindanao (May 5 in Tagum, Davao del Sur).
Marcos said, the miting de avances in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were to thank millions of their supporters who never left them in the 90-day campaign period.
The star-studded event edged out the grand rally in Cebu they held last April.
The Solaire open grounds became a sea of red as the crowds gathered to watch the powerful performances of local celebrities Toni Gonzaga, Andrew E., Willie Revillame, Dulce, Cris Villongco, Kris Lawrence, Geneva Cruz, among others.
Pinoy Rap Master Andrew E. energized the crowd with his unique style of rap songs and hinted that a landslide win awaits the UniTeam pair on Monday’s polls.
The crowd was also treated to a spectacular 15-minute fireworks’ display and a world-class synchronized drone show.
Actress-singer Toni Gonzaga rendered a tear-jerker version of the UniTeam theme song, Umagang kay Ganda before introducing Marcos.
The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer was accompanied by his wife Louise Araneta-Marcos, and sons Vincent, Sandro, and Simon, for a brief moment onstage.
In his message to supporters, Marcos thanked them for attending the miting de avance and answering the UniTeam’s call for unity.
“We await the day when we can say that we have improved our people’s lives because we worked together, were united. And when that day comes, we Filipinos can proudly say, ‘look at us Filipinos; we went through the crisis and have not just survived but are doing even better than before the pandemic,” Marcos Jr. said, speaking in Filipino.
Marcos also encouraged Filipinos to protect their votes and be vigilant on election day.
The former senator appealed to all Filipinos to go out and vote tomorrow and take part in determining the next leaders of the country.
Also present at the Miting de Avance were UniTeam Senate bets; #8 Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, #27 Jinggoy Estrada, #29 Atty. Larry Gadon, #30 Senator Win Gatchalian, #33 Gringo Honasan, #49 Robin Padilla, #54 Harry “Spox” Roque, #57 Gibo Teodoro, #62 Mark Villar, #64 Migz Zubiri, and #43 Rodante Marcoleta.
Former Senator #40 Loren Legarda, who could not attend the event, delivered her message to the crowd through a prerecorded video.
The UniTeam duo secured the support of at least 90 percent, or 73 out of 81 governors in the entire country, most of whom belong to many vote-rich provinces, according to UniTeam.
Aside from the strong alliances forged with various political parties during the campaign, the Marcos-Duterte tandem maintained its dominance in the most reputable pre-election surveys.
Marcos secured a wide voter preference margin in the final pre-election surveys issued by polling firms; Laylo Research with 64%, Pulse Asia with 56%, Social Weather Stations with 54%, Octa Research with 58%, PUBLiCUS Asia with 54%, and Tangere with 51%.
UniTeam quoted political analysts as attributing the impending win of the BBM-Sara tandem to its clear messaging, which includes a genuine appeal for unity among Filipinos amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image credits: Roy Domingo