Three of the senatorial candidates running under the electoral ticket of presidential candidate Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III showed up in Antipolo City, Rizal on Friday, April 22 to reinforce their continuing support for the tandem.
Public health advocate Dr. Minguita Padilla; former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, retired General Guillermo Eleazar; and erstwhile Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol joined Lacson and Sotto in presenting their respective advocacies at the Ynares Center to win the support of more than 1.6 million Rizal voters.
Eleazar appealed to the electorate of Antipolo City to carefully examine the track record of candidates before making a decision on who they would vote for come the May 9 elections.
“Doon (track record) niyo pagbasehan kung sino ba talaga ang nararapat na maglingkod sa ating bayan (Consider it as your primary basis on who is most suitable to serve our country),” he said.
Piñol, meanwhile, said that achieving food security is central to the agenda of a Lacson-Sotto administration for the agriculture sector. He noted that Rizal province has great potential to contribute to the farming industry owing to its large tracts of uncultivated lands.
“Bagama’t malapit kayo sa Metro Manila, kinokonsidera pa rin ang Rizal as an agricultural province (Even though Rizal is located near Metro Manila, it is still considered as an agricultural province). Napakalawak pa ng mga lupain na walang mga tanim at ito ang magiging programa ng Lacson-Sotto administration, ang pagpaparami ng pagkain (It has wide areas of land that don’t have any crops and this would be among the programs of the Lacson-Sotto administration, increasing food production),’’ according to Piñol.
Dr. Padilla, for her part, introduced her plans to pursue much-needed reforms in the public health sector.
She promised to work on laws aimed at ensuring an efficient healthcare system that would take care of the Filipinos "from the cradle to the grave" under the leadership of Lacson.
“Ang masasabi ko lang sa inyo, katulad ng aming principal (Lacson) na may prinsipyo, hindi corrupt at talagang public servant... Ito lang po ang maipapangako ko sa inyo, aalagaan kayo, ipaglalaban kayo para meron tayong sistemang pangkalusugan na mula sinapupunan hanggang libingan aalagaan kayo ng gobyerno (All I can say is that, like our principal who has principles, is not corrupt and a true public servant... I can only promise you one thing, I will take care of you and fight for you, so we could have a public health system under a national government that looks after you from the womb to the tomb),’’ the career ophthalmologist and founder of the Eye Bank of the Philippines said.
Former Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop organized the campaign activities for Team Lacson-Sotto in his province.
Lacson thanked Acop who has been working as his campaign manager since his departure from his former political party, Partido Reporma.
Present during the Lacson-Sotto town hall meeting were the local government officials, residents, and representatives of various multisectoral organizations from Antipolo City and nearby municipalities of Cainta, Taytay, and Binangonan.
Lacson in his speech encouraged the registered voters of Rizal to carefully think about their decisions before casting their votes in the upcoming 2022 national and local elections.
He advised them to avoid the mistake of electing the wrong sets of leaders.
“Kapag kayo’y nagkamali na bumoto sa mga sinungaling, sa mga mapagkunwari, sa mga mapaglinlang, anim na taon (o) tatlong taon kayong lolokohin (If you make the mistake of voting for a liar, a hypocrite, and a deceitful person, you have to endure six years or three years of their foolishness). Kapag kayo’y bumoto sa isang kulang sa pag-iisip—medyo kulang-kulang ang turnilyo—malamang sa hindi, anim na taon tuloy-tuloy na lulubog tayo nang lulubog. Maawa po kayo sa bansang Pilipinasn(If you vote for someone who is mentally unfit, who has a loose screw, that would mean six years of continuing decline for us. Have mercy on our Philippines),’’ Lacson said.