Presidential candidate and survey frontrunner Bongbong Marcos has called for a "ceasefire" on politics as his camp joined those racing to respond to victims of typhoon "Agaton" in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Isantabi muna natin ang pulitika, unahin natin ang pangangailangan ng mga tao na naapektuhan ng kalamidad,” Marcos said in a statement Monday afternoon, April 11 as he also called his supporters to momentarily veer away from campaigning and instead shift to the distribution of relief goods to affected families.
He also urged supporters to donate to the typhoon victims. The elections will take place on May 9, or in less than a month.
Marcos, who along with his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte comprise the UniTeam, was in Samar and Leyte last April 8 to 9 where he conducted huge campaign rallies before the provinces were hit by the typhoon. But at that time, the provinces were already feeling the effects of the rains.
In thr same statement, the UniTeam said its legal team was "readying necessary documents to secure exemption before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make sure that relief mission is compliant with the provisions of the Omnibus Election law".
Marcos said that as much as he wanted to immediately send relief goods to the affected areas, he was constrained by the existing anti- vote-buying laws that prohibit those running for public office from handing over any forms of help.
“Humihingi po ako ng pasensya sa ating mga kababayan dahil hindi kami agad makapagpadala ng mga tulong bagamat nakahanda naman tayo, kaya lang ay tali ang ating kamay dahil nga sa mga batas na may kaugnayan sa halalan (I apologize to my countrymen for not being able to send help immediately despite us being prepared for it, it's just that we are shackled by election-related law),” the Ilocano bet explained.
“Pero huwag kayong mag-alala, sisiguruhin namin na darating kami agad para magpa-abot ng tulong sa lahat ng mga apektado nating mga kababayan (But don't worry, we assure everyone that we will come at once to distribute help to all our affected countrymen),” he added.
Flooding triggered by Agaton has also so far displaced 23,841 families, with 3,228 families or 11,264 persons now staying at 52 evacuation centers.