By ARIANNE CHRISTIAN G. TAPAO
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose meme-worthy pickup lines had made her popular with the youth, ended her presidential campaign last night by gracing a street party on West Fourth Street in West Triangle, Quezon City.
Her running mate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who held his miting de avance in Mandaluyong days earlier, accompanied her in the event.
A crowd of mostly young people, wearing red, started filling up the small street around 4 p.m., three hours before the 7 p.m. event start.
Defensor-Santiago, along with Marcos Jr., arrived an hour into the street party.
She looked visibly tired, but began her speech with her trademark pickup lines, to the delight of the crowd. A child gave her flowers, for mother’s day.
Defensor-Santiago’s third bid for the presidency has been plagued by health issues.
In sharp contrast to Marcos Jr. who is neck-and-neck for first place in the vice presidential race, she placed last among the five presidential candidates in the most recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) pre-election survey.
Religious group Iglesia ni Cristo had also recently announced support for Marcos, but gave its presidential endorsement to Rodrigo Duterte, who held a miting de avance in Luneta the same night.
Yet, Defensor-Santiago’s camp expects the youth to deliver the votes for her come election day.
She remains the top choice for young voters, at least judging by the results of several university mock polls across the country.
Her popularity with the youth is also visible in social media: she is the most followed presidential candidate on Twitter with 2.5 million followers. (See Twitter parody in the time of Philippine elections)
Her official hashtags are also among the most widely used.
[metaslider id=35549]