Three senatorial candidates running with Senator Panfilo Lacson joined him anew on the campaign trail Friday (April 22) as they courted voters in Rizal, which has 1.6 million voters.
Public health advocate Dr. Minguita Padilla, former national police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar and erstwhile Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol presented their respective advocacies at the Ynares Center.
Eleazar appealed to the electorate of Antipolo City to carefully examine the track record of candidates before making a decision on who they would vote for come the May 9 elections. “Doon (track record) niyo pagbasehan kung sino ba talaga ang nararapat na maglingkod sa ating bayan (Consider it as your primary basis on who is most suitable to serve our country),” he said.
Piñol, meanwhile, said that achieving food security is central to the agenda of Lacson’s administration for the agriculture sector. He noted that Rizal province has great potential to contribute to the farming industry owing to its large tracts of uncultivated lands.
“Bagama’t malapit kayo sa Metro Manila, kinokonsidera pa rin ang Rizal as an agricultural province. Napakalawak pa ng mga lupain na walang mga tanim at ito ang magiging programa ng Lacson administration, ang pagpaparami ng pagkain,” according to Piñol.
Dr. Padilla, for her part, introduced her plans to pursue much-needed reforms in the public health sector. She promised to work on legislations aimed at ensuring an efficient healthcare system that will take care of the Filipinos ‘from the cradle to the grave’ under the leadership of Lacson.
“Ang masasabi ko lang sa inyo, katulad ng aming principal (Lacson) na may prinsipyo, hindi corrupt at talagang public servant… Ito lang po ang maipapangako ko sa inyo, aalagaan kayo, ipaglalaban kayo para meron tayong sistemang pangkalusugan na mula sinapupunan hanggang libingan aalagaan kayo ng gobyerno,” said the career ophthalmologist and founder of the Eye Bank of the Philippines.
Former Antipolo City second district Rep. Romeo Acop organized the sortie for Lacson in Rizal following his designation as campaign manager.
Lacson in his speech encouraged the registered voters of Rizal to carefully think about their decisions before casting their votes in the upcoming 2022 national and local elections. He advised them to avoid the mistake of electing the wrong sets of leaders.
“Kapag kayo’y nagkamali na bumoto sa mga sinungaling, sa mga mapagkunwari, sa mga mapaglinlang, anim na taon (o) tatlong taon kayong lolokohin. Kapag kayo’y bumoto sa isang kulang sa pag-iisip—medyo kulang-kulang ang turnilyo—malamang sa hindi, anim na taon tuloy-tuloy na lulubog tayo nang lulubog. Maawa po kayo sa bansang Pilipinas,” he said.
