CEBUANO voters should choose a leader who has principles and can decide on his own.
This was the message of Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Hubahib, secretary general of Partido Reporma, the party chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is running for the presidency for the second time since 2004.
Hubahib said the people should ponder on who should be elected for the highest seat of the Philippine government and should look for qualities that can help the nation recover from the ongoing pandemic.
“The leader that we need for the year 2022 should be brave, experienced, a heart who listens to the struggles of the poor, a leader that has the right idea to bring back the economy, and a leader that has no stains of corruption,” he said in Cebuano.
Lacson, a former police chief, is seeking the presidency. The senator’s running mate is vice-presidential aspirant Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. Sotto is the current chairman of Nationalist People’s Coalition.
Cebu’s importance
Hubahib acknowledged the importance of Cebu to Sotto and Lacson.
Sotto has roots in the province and has even relatives here. He is the grandson of Don Vicente Sotto, a Cebuano statesman who championed several causes, including freedom of the press.
For his part, Lacson had served as commander of the Cebu Metropolitan District Command (Metrodiscom) from 1989 to 1992.
“Their hearts already belong here in Cebu. They already have served and they have shown their love for the Cebuano people,” said Hubahib in an interview with reporters at the campaign headquarters of Lacson and Senate Sotto III on A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City on Sunday, November 14, 2021.
A motorcade was then conducted by the supporters of the Lacson-Sotto tandem that started in Mandaue City and ended in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.
According to the organizers, around 600 motorcycles and vehicles participated in the motorcade that aimed at showing the support of the Cebuanos to Senator Lacson and Sotto.
The two candidates for the two highest elective posts in the country were not in Cebu yesterday. The candidates’ local organizers said Lacson and Sotto are expected to visit Cebu within November.
Supporters of presidential aspirants Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. also held their own motorcade on Sunday.