Aquino, Pangilinan keep ‘people’s campaign’ for senatorial run

Dasmariñas City, Cavite, Philippines - Senatorial candidates Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan began their Senate comeback bid by reviving the “people’s campaign.”

Aquino and Pangilinan began their campaign on Monday, Feb. 11, at the Dasmariñas Arena in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, backed by former Vice President Leni Robredo.

Robredo said vote-rich Cavite was important to the “people’s campaign” during her presidential run in 2022. Pangilinan was her running mate.

Supporters of Aquino and Pangilinan wore pink and green shirts; the tagline and song resembling the campaign three years ago.

“Tumitindig ako sa harap ninyo ngayong gabi, hindi bilang kandidato, kundi bilang kapwa ninyo Pilipino,” Robredo told supporters. “Buong pagpapakumbaba at pakikipag-usap: Muli nating gisingin ang lakas ng nagkakaisang taumbayan, muli na nating ipaglaban ang Pilipinas ng ating mga pangarap.”

[Translation: I stand before you tonight not as a candidate but as a fellow Filipino. I urge you: Let’s reawaken the strength of a united people, and fight again for the Philippines that we dream of.]

Robredo lost to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who won by a landslide.

“Hindi puwedeng manatili lang tayo sa pagkabigo at paninisi dahil hindi naman natapos ang laban noong 2022, at hindi rin doon natapos ang ating tungkulin bilang mga Pilipino,” she said.

[Translation: We cannot remain disappointed and point fingers because the fight did not end in 2022, nor did our duty as Filipinos end there.]

On Tuesday morning, Robredo joined Aquino and Pangilinan in a mass held at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in the University of the Philippines Diliman to kick off their campaign.

The two candidates conducted house-to-house visits in Krus na Ligas in Quezon City.

In pre-election surveys conducted in January by OCTA Research and Pulse Asia, Aquino and Pangilinan had a voter preference lower than 30%, and they had yet to enter the “Magic 12.”

In their campaign speeches, Aquino said he would push for a bigger budget to fund free tuition for state universities and colleges, and assure people of jobs. Pangilinan focused on addressing the high prices of goods, such as rice.

Allies Mamamayang Liberal party-list and Akbayan party-list also appeared in the Cavite campaign event. The first nominees of the party-list groups were former Sen. Leila de Lima and lawyer Chel Diokno, respectively.