Negros Occidental was awash with pink as more than 100,000 Negrense supporters of Leni Robredo and her team joined their grand people’s rally at the Paglaum Stadium in Bacolod City and rallies in four other cities and two towns on Friday, March 11.
About 70,000 Negrenses gathered inside the Paglaum Stadium and on the streets outside for the grand rally, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante placed the crowd at the rally in Sagay City Friday morning at 20,000.
The crowds at the rallies in San Carlos City were 3,000, Kabankalan City – 5,000, La Carlota City – 5,000, Binalbagan – 2,000, and Hinigaran – 2,000, coordinators said.
The series of rallies kicked off at the Bishop’s Compound in San Carlos City at 7 a.m. with Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson calling on the crowd to vote for Robredo.
“The victory of our candidate is in your hands. This election on May 9, we do not need to listen to our elders. Let us make the decision for ourselves,” Lacson told the crowd of about 3,000, many of whom were youth voters.
“Our candidate is intelligent. Our candidate is sincere. Our candidate is helpful. And our candidate is trustworthy,” Lacson told the cheering crowd.
Robredo and Pangilinan, who were accompanied by former governor Rafael Coscolluela and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. were welcomed by San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza.
Robredo, who thanked Alminaza for hosting the rally, told the crowd that she and her runningmate will provide a government that is sincere and that will work to uplift the lives of all.
Robredo said she won by a wide margin for vice president in Negros Occidental in 2016 and did not forget the province when she won, having delivered numerous projects to the area, including assistance to the victims of Typhoon Odette.
“We are united in our love for our country,” she told the cheering crowd.
In Sagay City Robredo was greeted by a crowd of 20,000 and was endorsed by Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva (Neg. Occ., 2nd District) Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III and Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante.
Also present was former Commissioner Rowena Guanzon of the Commission on Elections who asked the crowd if they were willing to vote for a thief, a liar and a tax evader to which the crowd shouted “no”. Let’s say no to drugs and never again to martial law, Guanzon told the crowd.
Also seen on stage was Dr. Marilyn Marañon, the widow of the late governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., Negros Occidental Board Member Pal Guanzon, and former Cadiz mayor Patrick Escalante.
Robredo assured the crowd that she and her running mate had served the country without any tinge of corruption to their names.
If you choose the wrong candidate, the nation will suffer for six years, she said.
“Let us prove to all that power is in the hands of the ordinary Negrenses,” she said.
“If we show our love of county by voting right, we will show to them that the power is with us,” she said.
Robredo visited the tombs of former Negros Occidental governors Joseph and Alfredo Marañon while in Sagay City.
The Marañons have committed to support her candidacy and are among her strongest supporters in Negros.
Robredo and Pangilinan were also prayed over by numerous priests and ministers at the new St. Joseph’s Parish Church in Sagay City.
Huge crowds of pink supporters also greeted Robredo in her sorties throughout southern Negros Occidental.
At the St. Columban Arts Center of the Kabankalan Catholic College in Kabankalan City she was greeted by a crowd of 5,000, and 2,000 more at the Binalbagan Catholic College in Binalbagan town.
In a whistle stop in Hinigaran town she was also greeted by a cheering crowd of 2,000, while more than 5,000 joined her rally in La Carlota City.
She also visited a Community Learning Hub (CLH) in Brgy. Caradio-an, Himamaylan City, where she was welcomed by parents, students, and volunteers.
The CLH is a COVID-19 response initiative of the Office of the Vice President where students can consult tutors and avail of gadgets and connect to the internet for online classes and print school requirements for free after the pandemic forced schools to close and shift to distance learning.*