Filipinos told not to wear campaign shirts on May 9
THE COMMISSION on Elections on Wednesday reminded Filipinos that wearing campaign shirts on election day is illegal.
“We won’t dictate upon voters and prohibit them from wearing the campaign color of a candidate,” Election Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia told an online news briefing in Filipino. “Remember, campaigning on May 9 is banned.”
He said election watchers might flag voters who wear campaign materials inside voting precincts.
“If you wear a face mask or clothes with the face of a candidate, I am sure the watcher inside the voting precinct will object,” he added.
Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., the frontrunner in opinion polls who snubbed presidential debates, on Tuesday night focused on his unity message.
“Turn our back on misunderstanding and divisiveness,” he said in a video message posted on his Facebook page. “Support a unifying leader who will bring us to a prosperous tomorrow.”
He also asked people to guard their votes. “Let us protect our decision and let us not allow it to be stolen from us again.”
Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, No. 2 in presidential opinion polls, defeated him in the 2016 vice-presidential race by a hair.
The son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos filed an election protested that the Supreme Court dismissed last year.
Mr. Robredo in a video also posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday night reiterated her economic recovery plan.
“Marcos’s campaign is centered on refurbishing his family’s image instead of presenting a much-needed economic recovery plan for the country,” said Cielo D. Magno, a professor at the University of the Philippines’ (UP) School of Economics.
He “continues to stick with his motherhood statements about unity, hoping that it is sufficient to convince Filipinos to vote for him,” she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
On the other hand, Ms. Robredo’s latest video showed “her seriousness and commitment in finding solutions to the problems that beset our country,” she added.
Her participation in presidential debates, where she “presented her priorities and share her point of views about the structural problems of the country,” allowed ordinary Filipinos and businessmen to gauge her economic plan, Ms. Magno said.
“This is the minimum that we should expect from our presidential candidates.”
Mr. Marcos should have focused on his socioeconomic platforms during the campaign season, said John Paolo R. Rivera, an economist at the Asian Institute of Management.
“Unity is a consequence of good socioeconomic platforms that aim to improve societal well-being,” he said in a Viber message. “You cannot dissect unity anymore.”
Emy Ruth G. Gianan, who teaches economics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, said only Ms. Robredo and labor leader Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman had detailed their economic plans.