Presidential frontrunners visit vote-rich Visayas

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES’ top three presidential frontrunners visited the Visayas island this week, as they tried to woo more voters less than three weeks before the elections.

Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo on Thursday held campaign rallies in three big cities in vote-rich Cebu province, whose governor had pledged a landslide victory for the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

“I won’t lose focus on my real goals,” she told reporters in Filipino in Cebu’s Bogo City when asked to comment on rival presidential bet Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso’s call for her to quit the race, according to a transcript sent by her office.

Mr. Domagoso, a former matinee idol, on Wednesday night campaigned in Tagbilaran City, where he drew about 40,000 supporters, according to his office.

The provinces of Cebu, Negros Occidental and Iloilo in the Visayas have a total of 6.8 million voters, according to Commission on Elections data.

“Moreno urged the people anew, especially the youth, not to be blindsided by the fight for power among the two warring elitist political factions who have lorded over the country for several decades only to leave the ordinary mortals on the losing end,” it said in a statement that used Mr. Domagoso’s screen name.

The mayor has presented himself as an alternative candidate to political clans that have dominated Philippine politics. Ms. Robredo is a member of the Liberal Party, the party of the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III, whose mother Corazon replaced Ferdinand Marcos after he was toppled by a popular street uprising in 1986.

The dictator’s son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., visited Cebu City, whose governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia estimated more than a million votes more for him compared with his closest rival in the May 9 election.

Mr. Domagoso and other presidential poll laggards on Sunday urged Ms. Robredo to withdraw from the race after some sectors asked them to back her instead in a presidential race that is shaping up to become a two-way contest.

Marcos, Jr. is leading in presidential opinion polls, where Ms. Robredo is a distant second though her ratings have risen.

Presidential candidates are expected to intensify their campaigns on various fronts, whether through large rallies or from house to house, said Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines (UP).

“Last-minute endorsements can pull their candidacies, but I think this will only affect undecided or soft voters,” she said in a Viber message. “Hard voters are already decided, and it would take something drastic for them to change their choice.”

She said Ms. Robredo is expected to keep her composure amid personal attacks. “As always, her message is to focus on the campaign.” 

Ms. Atienza said Mr. Domagoso might use the remaining days to get media attention and increase his exposure. “Whether this works or not is something that will unfold later.”

“All campaigns will try to gain momentum until the end of the campaign period,” said Jan Robert Go, an assistant political science professor from UP.

He said candidates who run negative campaigns like Mr. Domagoso “may intensify their attacks against other candidates but it could backfire like what is happening now.”

“Others may intensify the strategies that are working, like advertisements, rallies, house-to-house campaigns,” he said in a Messenger chat. “There could be more shifts in alliances and endorsements for certain candidates.”

Mr. Go said Ms. Robredo’s campaign would likely gain more momentum after being attacked by her rivals. “She remains unbothered despite attacks from Domagoso.”

The last government-organized presidential debate on Sunday could still affect their campaigns.

“The Marcos-Duterte camp can’t afford to have a lull in their campaigns and their continued silence on issues against them and their absence from debates may cost them some more votes,” he said.

Ms. Atienza said Mr. Domagoso might reiterate his tirades against the opposition. “It would be interesting to see how other candidates who denied asking the vice-president to withdraw will react to these possible dynamics.”