Robredo camp ramps up house-to-house campaign

PINK CROWD Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo campaigns in Infanta, Quezon on Monday, April 18, 2022. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

THE camp of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo has ramped up its house-to-house campaigning with only three weeks to go before the elections, her spokesman Barry Gutierrez said, a scheme that former senator Antonio Trillanes 4th described as “the real face of unity” as thousands of volunteers visiting homes, public markets and transport terminals.

“With three weeks till election day, the People's Campaign supporting VP Leni's presidential bid is working double time with the tao sa tao, puso sa puso campaign (with the person-to-person, heart-to-heart campaign),” Gutierrez said.

Trillanes, who is running for a Senate seat under Robredo's slate, said the surging “Pink Movement” boosted its ground game.

“Ano pa ang mas inspiring na larawan kaysa sa mga tao na may iba't ibang social background pero sabay-sabay nagbabahay-bahay at 'di alintana ang init at ulan para ikampanya lamang si VP Leni (What is a more inspiring picture than people from different social backgrounds doing house-to-house together and not minding heat and rain just to campaign for VP Leni?),” he said.

“Pag nagsama ang isang tita na naka-SUV at isang millennial na naka-tsinelas at tinitiis ang init para kumatok sa mga bahay, hindi ba 'yan ang ehemplo ng tunay na pagkakaisa? Pag ang isang artista at ang kanyang fans ay bumaba sa mga komunidad upang makihalubilo sa mga tao, hindi ba 'yan ang tunay na team unity (When someone with an SUV and a millennial wearing slippers come together and endure the heat to knock on doors, is that not the example of true unity? When an actor and his fans descend on a community and join the people, is that not the example of true unity?),” he added.

On Monday, celebrities Nikki Valdez, Jake Ejercito, Adrian Lindayag and Alora Sasam, as well as social media celebrity Pipay, conducted house-to-house campaigns.

Valdez campaigned in Cagayan province; Ejercito and Lindayag conducted house-to-house campaign in Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City; Sasam as well as senior, youth and farmer volunteers went to Valencia Public Market in Bukidnon; and Pipay led the person-to-person campaign at Caingin village in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Robredo's daughters Tricia and Aika campaigned in Pasig and in Cagayan, respectively, while the vice president attended a campaign rally in Infanta, Quezon province and one in Marinduque province.

Trillanes said that Robredo's campaign melted class divisions by the “powerful message of love and unity.”

“These gestures of togetherness driven by pure love for country are done by tens of thousands of citizens every day in every corner of the country,” the former senator said, adding that Robredo's message of hope “appeals to our basic decency.”

He added that artists and singers, and holding concerts for Robredo and her running mate, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, for free proves that the vice president has inspired good influencers to go out of their comfort zones.

“When glamor and glitz unite with guts and grassroots, you know that this is a special and historical campaign and that the stake is big. This is the kind of unity and solidarity that has driven the other camp to panic,” Trillanes said.