Aspiring vice president Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan earned the support of the grandson of the late President Manuel L. Quezon, Ben Avanceña, and his wife Imelda.

The couple aired their full support for Pangilinan's candidacy during the “Si Kiko ang Manok Ko” virtual gathering Monday night as they recalled the many times they saw how good a public servant Pangilinan is.

They said the senator embodies integrity, love for the poor, and faith in God.

Avanceña expressed that apart from Pangilinan's character, he is most suited to become vice president because of his track record of championing the welfare of the poor and marginalized.

“Unang-una, integridad, si Kiko may isang salita, tapat sa kanyang salita at sa paniniwala. Pangalawa, ang puso ni Kiko malapit sa mga mahihirap lalung-lalo na sa mga magsasaka’t mangingisda (First, his integrity, Kiko is a man of his words. Second, his heart is close to the poor, especially the farmers and fishers),” Avanceña said.

“Bakit napakahalaga nito? Sapagkat alam naman natin sa bayan natin kung saan ang hustisya ay kakampi ng mayayaman at nasa poder ay kailangang mayroon silang tagapagtanggol (Why is this important? Because we know that in our society where justice is the ally of the rich, the poor needs a defender),” he added.

He further vouched for the senator, saying that the poor needs someone like Pangilinan who has "a firm stance for justice and a lawyer who was a student-leader."

“At alam ko na kapag sinabi ni Kiko na ‘Hello pagkain’ ay talagang mawawala na ang gutom (And I know that when Kiko says 'Hello pagkain,' hunger will really end),” added the son of Nini Avanceña-Quezon, who was among the first to endorse Pangilinan in his congressional run in 1992.

Pangilinan’s campaign slogan is “Hello Pagkain! Goodbye Gutom” which is built on his advocacy to improve agriculture as a means of addressing the widespread hunger in the country.

Avanceña also highlighted that Pangilinan was never involved in any issues involving moral turpitude and expressed confidence that with Pangilinan's faith, "he will never give in to bribes and favors."

For her part, Imelda said she and a group of friends are doing on-ground campaigning to reach more potential voters for the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem.

She said that several weeks ago, she met a homeless family, who upon seeing Pangilinan’s calendar also expressed their plan to vote for him.