The “huge turnout” of supporters and volunteers attending Team Leni-Kiko political rallies in the past weeks shows that its campaign has the “momentum” to win the May 9 elections, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said on Monday, March 7.
Drilon cited the massive attendees in their provincial sorties are a “strong indication of the people’s real choices” among those running for the upcoming polls.
“It’s a matter of keeping up the momentum for Robredo up to the last day of the campaign. I believe Robredo’s strong showing in the presidential debates has further generated support for her presidential run,” he said.
“Without a doubt, the Leni-Kiko campaign has turned into a people’s movement nationwide,” Drilon stressed.
The senator noted Robredo and her running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan themselves were surprised by the big number of those attending their campaign rallies in cities of Naga, Quezon, Cebu, Iloilo, and Manila.
There is an ongoing “Pink Olympics” among Robredo’s supporters as different cities and provinces try to outnumber one another by having the biggest crowd.
Just last Saturday, March 5, an estimated 45,000 people showed up for the Leni-Kiko slate in Malolos, Bulacan, following its 47,000-strong Cavite grand rally, which was described as their biggest sortie so far.
READ: The battle is on: 45,000 supporters pack Robredo’s grand rally in Bulacan
Drilon added their campaign also generated huge crowds, surprisingly, in Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao.
He explained such turnout “shows a huge disconnect between survey results and the true sentiment of the people on the ground.”
The latest survey results from Pulse Asia showed former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leading with 60 percent and Robredo only with 16 percent.
Other survey firms such as SWS and Publicus Asia showed the same difference in numbers.
“Surveys give us numbers, but sorties and rallies make us feel the sentiments and the emotion of the people,” Drilon, a staunch supporter of the Leni-Kiko tandem, said.
“This huge turnout proves that the Leni-Kiko campaign is gaining ground all over the country. It speaks doubly louder than those surveys being pushed by certain firms,” he added.
Meanwhile, former House deputy speaker Erin Tañada, campaign manager of the opposition senatorial slate, dismissed as “fake as Tallano gold” the claim that the attendees in the Cavite rally were paid P500 each.
Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla’s alleged that those who joined the rally in General Trias last week were paid and “hakot” crowds.
READ: Solon alleges Cavite rally attendees were paid P500 each
“Ang kwento ni (The story of) Crispin Remulla ay kwentong Tallano (is the Tallano story)," said Tañada. "Yung paratang nyang P500 na bayad ay budol tulad ng 500,000 tons na ginto ni Tallano (His accusation that people who came were paid is a scam like the 500,000 tons of Tallano gold)," he said.
"This is straight out of the Marcos factory of lies,” added Tañada.