UniTeam ends campaign season in show of force
MANILA --- Survey frontrunners Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte are ending their 90-day campaign trail in front of tens of thousands that braved the sweltering heat in Parañaque City on Saturday.
The miting de avance in Luzon is a culmination of a three-day leg events: In Ilolo on May 3 and Davao on May 5. And just like their proclamation rally, Marcos and Duterte were away from their hometowns for their finally activity, this time at an expanse lot in front of Solaire.
The UniTeam or any of the team has yet to release a crowd estimate as of this story’s posting.
Marcos’ spokesperson Vic Rodriguez, in an ANC interview Friday, said their overall theme for the last stretch of their campaign is “good vibes only.”
“Tone down on political speeches and just thank the people, because they did not get swayed by bullying,” he added in Filipino.
As early as 1:00 p.m., supporters started flocking the venue even though the main event is slated at late afternoon to early evening. They went to the venue, the lot in front of Solaire Hotel, bearing balloons, tarpaulins and even Philippine flags. The breeze did little to alleviate the strong heat of the sun beating down on everyone’s back but the UniTeam supporters did not mind. They told us they purposely got here early so the can come nearer the stage.
UniTeam had a list of performers to entertain those came early, ranging from OPM icons Renz Verano, Richard Reynoso and Geneva Cruz, band Cueshe and even TikTok personality DJ Loonyo. In their songs, they always to insert “Bongbong Sara,” but still, the best chant yo hype the crowd is this: “Two days na lang, nasa Malacañang na si BBM!”
As day bled onto night, the crowd visibly thickened as the a huge part of the venue has been filled with supporters also carrying red flags with BBM initials.. A separate LED wall was put up in the middle of the venue, but only the right side of the stage was packed while parts of the left side of the venue remain unfilled.
At around 7:30 p.m., they started showing video clips of Mqrcos’ announcement for his candidacy.
A switch? Unite to protect votes Marcos has been criticized for his stump unity speech that left out concrete platforms, but he stuck to his campaign call and shunned debates and press conference where he could have directly answered questions from the media.
He instead barnstormed areas in the Philippines, sometimes returning to voterick provinces, drawing mammoth crowds, although the number of attendees were also questioned.
At the last stretch of the campaign, Marcos shifted to a call for “voter protection.” It started with quips that he will send tons of instant coffees on the night of elections — hinting that things happen at night, when Robredo overtook him in the 2016 elections.
A week before the polls, Marcos also came up with a video where he said: “Let us protect our decision and let us not allow it to be stolen from us again.”