Text by ALANAH TORRALBA
Photos by LUIS LIWANAG, ALANAH TORRALBA and ALLAN YVES BRIONES
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THE Roxas camp seems to be pulling out all the stops a few days before the May 9 national and local elections.
On April 28, the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Mar Roxas’ home turf, glistened in yellow as thousands gathered for what organizers dubbed as the Mar-Leni Youth Rally.
Leni Robredo, however, was a no-show. Her daughters Tricia and Jillian represented the vice presidential candidate in the event.
Several celebrities were in attendance, among them talk show host Boy Abunda, folk singer Noel Cabangon, noontime show host Billy Crawford and singer Gary Valenciano.
But no other announcement from the hosts incited as much shrieks and screaming than the attendance of popular love team Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
In his speech, Roxas stressed decency and continuity. He said too many segments of society such as women, persons with disabilities and the LGBT community had been maligned during the campaign, “Just for laughs.”
It is a clear reference to the series of statements issued by presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte that reportedly offended several groups.
The Liberal Party standard bearer appealed to his supporters to help him win the election by campaigning to their network of family and friends. He said Filipinos should vote for the candidates who epitomized decency and honesty.
Earlier, Roxas held a press conference where he delivered a scathing takedown of Duterte who is facing allegations of corruption following an exposé of supposed bank accounts which he did not declare in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
Roxas then released a document authorizing the Ombudsman to look into his bank accounts since he assumed public office in 1993.
The document in part said, “I have nothing to hide…as a candidate for president, I want to prove that I am fully worthy of the people’s trust.”