CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY-- Presidential candidate Senator Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao vowed to help the poor Filipino families if elected in the May 9 elections.
Pacquiao made the promise in front of his Cagayan de Oro supporters during his rally at the newly-built Amphitheater here on Saturday, April 30.
“To be honest, I don’t need a position in the government. However, as I have seen the situation of our country, I pity the poor and the poor families,” he said in vernacular.
Pacquiao asked the public to give him a chance as he will do his job to serve, protect and help the people in improving their lives.
The presidential aspirant also urged the public to open their eyes, especially in the election period where some politicians, he said, promised to uplift the lives of the people with no actual result.
“We should open our eyes because every election, I am disgusted. Every election, politicians have wonderful promises but why the Filipino people are suffering,” he said.
Pacquiao and his Jinkee were joined by his supporters in a motorcade before the rally.
Pacquiao also joined the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) - the oldest association of media practitioners club in Mindanao - in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Press Freedom Monument at the Misamis Oriental Capitol ground, in memory of fallen journalists and media personnel.
“Ang press freedom ay bahagi ng kalayaan, ng demokrasya ng ating bansa. Yan ay mukha ng ating demokrasya yung malayang pamamahayag,” Pacquiao said in his speech.
On behalf of COPC president Frank Mendez, Dr. Manny Jaudian, former COPC president, thanked Pacquiao and his team for his effort to honor the journalists and media practitioners who have been killed in the line of duty.
Lt. Col. Ariel Philip Pontillas, the deputy director for operations of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO), said they deployed more or less 100 police personnel to provide security assistance to the campaign rally of Pacquiao.
Apart from the security assistance, Pontillas said the police force had also focused on monitoring the public to ensure the observance of the minimum public health standards against coronavirus disease.