Senatorial aspirants backed by President Marcos expressed confidence that they will secure the support of Metro Manila in the upcoming elections as they mounted their first ever campaign rally in the vote-rich region on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Candidates running under the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas coalition wooed voters in the National Capital Region (NCR), even as some of them had at some point become local government officials in various cities there.

"We are confident, but we don't want to be complacent," senatorial aspirant and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo said in a press conference about why they still needed to hold a rally in the Metro.

Metro Manila was Alyansa's fourth campaign stop after Ilocos Norte, Iloilo and Davao del Norte.​ Tuesday marked the first full week of this year's campaign season.

Around 8,000 Alyansa supporters later gathered at​ the Cuneta Astrodome​, where President Marcos was also present to vouch for his senatorial line-up.

Another Alyansa bet, Las Piñas lone district Rep. Camille Villar, believed that have their ticket had the advantage over the other senatorial candidates in terms of understanding the needs of Metro Manila residents and getting their support.

"Nakikita kong isa sa mga strengths ng Alyansa eh dito sa National Capital Region (NCR) ay marami sa aking mga kasama dito ay tiga NCR (One of the strengths that I saw in Alyansa is that many of my colleagues here are from the NCR)," Villar said​ in the presser ahead of the rally.

"I have an understanding kung ano yung talagang pangangailan ng residents (on the residents' needs)... Meron tayong programa para tugunan 'yun (We have a program to address them)," she added.

For senatorial hopeful Makati Ciy Mayor Abby Binay, the Alyansa members complement each other well considering that ​its bets came from all branches of the government.

Former senator Manny Pacquiao is confident that Metro Manila voters will vote straight for Alyansa.

"Kumpyansa kami sa grupo ng Alyansa na ma-12-0 namin dito sa Metro Manila dahil unang una, suportado kami ng pangulo. At ang program ng Alyansa eh para talaga sa mga mahihirap (We are confident to secure a 12-0 sweep from Metro Manila. First is because we're supported by the President, and second is our program is really for the poor)," Pacquiao said.​

Former senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson agreed with Pacquiao and said that the President’s backing was a big deal.

Former Senate president Tito Sotto reminded the public that it was actually him who converted 10 localities in the NCR from a municipality to a city.

"Lahat ng naging city thereafter, ako naging sponsor sa Senado para maging city sila. Hindi ako naniningil, nagpapaalala lang ako (I sponsored in the Senate those localities that became cities thereafter. I'm not asking for anything in return. I'm just making a reminder)," he quipped.

​Platforms

At the press conference, Alyansa's bets were asked about various issues, including drugs, food inflation, the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and corruption.

To address the drug problem in the country, former Sotto says he is eyeing the creation of a presidential committee against drugs.

He said there should be a "better authority" to handle the problem because "we have seen in the past" that agencies that handled the drug problem did not work well.

Binay, meanwhile, wants to push for empowerment of barangay governments and personnel. 

Former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief Benhur Abalos wants to take advantage of technology to strengthen law enforcement.

For his part, re-electionist Senator Francis Tolentino says he will support the return of death penalty if it is brought up in Congress as punishment against drug personalities.

Regarding the WPS, Sotto hinted at creating a dash-line over the body of water to match China's 10-dash line and assert Philippine rights over the waters.

Meanwhile, Tulfo said he would push for the exclusion of government officials from the Bank Secrecy Law and demand them to make public their net worth during their term for the sake of transparency.