Like in his other campaign rallies, presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. repeatedly talked about "unity" in his Quezon City speech on Monday night without going into much detail how it can help him achieve his aspiration for the country to rise up again.
The only time Marcos Jr. related unity to success—although still vague—was when he said Filipinos are naturally helpful, so they will not let their fellow suffer hardships.
"'Pag may nakitang kapwa Pilipino na naghihingalo ay ibibigay ang kanyang kamay para makapag dulot ng kaunting ginhawa sa kanyang kapwa Pilipino. 'Yan po ang kulturang Pinoy. 'Yan po ang katangian ng mga Pilipino (If we see a fellow Filipino in need of help, we help him or her get relief. That's the Filipino culture, that's the Filipino characteristic)," he said during his campaign speech at Amoranto Stadium.
"Ito ang ating layunin para sa ating bansa—itong pagkakaisa. At kapagka ito'y nagawa natin, pag ito'y napagtuloy natin. Itong kilusan ng pagkakaisa, ay papasikatin natin muli ang Pilipinas. Papagandahin nanaman natin muli ang Pilipinas at haharap nanaman tayo sa buong mundo (That is our aspiration for the country—unity. Once we have achieved it, the movement for unity, we will make the country famous again. We will make the Philippines beautiful again and face the world)," he added.
Marcos Jr., the frontrunner candidate in recent presidential surveys, mentioned for 17 times the word pagkakaisa or unity and other variations of it in his Monday's speech that ran for about 12 minutes.
He also talked about the need to strengthen the agriculture, tourism and infrastructure industries as well as the internet connectivity in the country—which are the same thing he mentioned in previous interviews and speeches, including those in Philippine Arena, Tuguegarao in Cagayan and Valenzuela City.
Marcos Jr., who hailed from the country's northern region, stressed once again his alliance with vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is from Mindanao, as a symbol of unity.
"Dalawang nanggaling sa magkabilang dako ng Pilipinas ay nagkaisa, nagsama upang tulungan ang Pilipinas. Siguro naman ang lahat ng Pilipino ay kaya nating ipagsama-sama at ipagkaisa (Two individuals that were hailed from the opposite part of the Philippines became united to help the country. I'm sure we can make all Filipinos united)," he said.
Marcos Jr. said he decided to run for the presidency after the "whisper" calling for unity had become a loud call.
"Habang tumagal ang panahon sa nakaraang ilang linggo, sa nakaraang ilang buwan ay yung bulong na yan ay dahan dahang lumalakas at nagiging sigaw na sinasabi ng ating mga kababayan kasama ako dyan sa pagkikilos ng pagkakaisa, kasama ako dyan sa pagpaganda ng Pilipinas, kasama ako dyan sa pagtulong sa aking kapwa Pilipino (As time passes by, that whisper calling unity had become louder. That became the loud call from our fellow, who were saying they are part of that movement for unity, to make the Philippines beautiful again and to help fellow Filipinos)," he said.
Marcos Jr.'s event in Quezon City was hosted by mayoral aspirant Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Mike Defensor, who is lagging behind re-electionist Mayor Joy Belmonte in the local surveys.