Former Manila mayor and vice presidential candidate Lito Atienza urged Filipinos to choose the right leaders during the elections to carry out real change in the Philippines.
“Mahirap ang bayan, mahirap ang Pilipino... alam niyo kung bakit? Dahil ang mga namumuno sa atin for the past so many decades walang inisip kung hindi ang sarili nilang kapakanan at nagnanakaw sila sa gobyerno. Iyan ang katotohanan (The nation is poor, the Filipinos are poor... you know why? Because those who have led us for the past so many decades thought nothing but their own interests and they are stealing from the government. That is the truth),” said Atienza during the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) e-rally that was live streamed on Saturday night.
“Bumoto tayo ng tama. Yung mga kabataan ngayon kung hindi natin babaguhin ang takbo ng gobyerno, wala kayong mamanahing mayamang bansa na magbibigay ng pagkakataon sa inyo pagdating ng panahon (Let's vote right. To the young people, if we do not change the course of this government, you will not inherit a rich country that will give you better opportunities when the time comes),” he added.
Atienza believes that his running mate— boxing icon Senator Manny Pacquiao— is the "right man" to become the country's next president.
“We need a leader–a leader who will sacrifice everything for the welfare of the people. Manny Pacquiao is the leader,” he said.
“We have to unite, we have to wake up to reality. There is a duty awaiting every Filipino—vote for the right man: that’s Manny Pacquiao, Lito Atienza kasama niya (will be with him),” he added.
The Pacquiao-Atienza tandem will push for employment and housing for Filipinos if ever they will be elected as president and vice president, respectively, said Atienza.
“Hindi dapat tayo naghihirap sapagkat hindi tayo pinabayaan ng kalikasan at Panginoong Diyos kailanman. Pinababayaan natin ang ating sarili—pagboto ng mali, pagtangkilik sa masasama, at pagpapabaya sa ating mga karapatan (We should not be suffering because nature and the Lord never neglected us. We neglect ourselves— voting wrong people, patronizing the bad, and neglecting our rights),” he said.
“We need to wake up to reality we can be a very wealthy nation. We don’t need to go to abroad para tayo ay maging domestic sa ibang bansa kung tayo ay pipili ng tama. Merong trabahong naghihintay dito sa ating bansa para sa lahat ng Pilipinong grumagradweyt, bumoto lang tayo ng tama (We don’t need to go abroad for us to become domestic in another country if we choose correctly. There are jobs waiting here in our country for all Filipino graduates. We just need to vote right),” he added.