Text and Photos by ALANAH TORRALBA
AS he ended his campaign, Vice President Jejomar Binay called on President Benigno Aquino III to keep the May 9 elections orderly and honest.
During the United Nationalist Alliance’s miting de avance in Barangay West Rembo in Makati on Saturday, supporters came in droves as catchy jingles played on loop. Near the stage, rows of chairs were specifically labeled for senior citizens.
Betty Olivia, 79, said she was supporting Binay because she had benefited from his government while he was in office. She said she received a pension from the city and would like for that to continue.
The crowd estimated at 60,000 by the Binay camp, 12,000 by the police, swelled at around 3 in the afternoon, the candidates began to speak to the crowd. Among the first to speak were senatorial candidates Retired General Getulio Napenas, actor Alma Moreno and Kabayan Party-list first nominee lawyer Harry Roque.
Roque said an estimated 15 million votes will be cast for Binay. “We started with 50,000 loyalists from Makati then we asked each of them to call relatives to get 50 more votes and so on,” he said.
The crowd also cheered for Representative Abby Binay, who is running for mayor. Former Makati Mayor Jun Jun Binay also took the stage to thank the crowd for their support and urged them to bring back to the people of Makati the “brand of service” their family is known for.
Senatorial candidate Manny Pacquiao reiterated, Binay is the best candidate to solve the country’s problems because he knows what it is like to be poor.
When it was Vice President’s turn to speak, he appealed to his supporters to protect their votes from the maneuvering of influential politicians. He implored them to vote with their conscience.
“Ito ang araw na malaya kayo sa dikta, bukod lamang sa dikta ng inyong konsensiya (This is the day when you vote with your conscience),”he said.
He appealed to the president “not as Vice President but as an ordinary Filipino”, for Aquino to deliver a clean and orderly elections on Monday. As his mother the late Corazon Aquino bequeathed to the nation a legacy of democracy in 1986, so should his son, he said.
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