Otso Diretso campaigns in 30 areas with help of youth, volunteers

Despite meager resources, the Otso Diretso senatorial slate was able to campaign in at least 30 provinces and cities, relying mostly on volunteers and supporters who paved the way for their visits.

During its miting de avance on May 8 at the University of the Philippines' Sunken Garden, Otso Diretso diehards displayed their support anew, getting drenched in rain to attend a thanksgiving concert for friends and volunteers.

Amid the downpour, the eight senatorial candidates jammed with the volunteers and thanked them for their help in bolstering their campaign.

"Ang tunay na lakas ng anumang kampanya ay naka-ugat sa puso’t damdamin ng bawat volunteer,” Senator Francis Pangilinan and Otso Diretso campaign manager said.

“Kayo pong mga volunteer ang nagbibigay ng saysay sa kampanya... lahat po kayong nandito umikot na sa mga palengke, sumuyod na sa mga parokya, pinuntahan na lahat ng eskwelahan, lahat ng mall, lahat ng terminal para po sa Otso Diretso kaya po maraming maraming salamat po,” he added. 

Di pa tapos ang boksing

Pangilinan, who is also the president of the Liberal Party, said he was thankful "we have reached this far."

He said Otso Diretso was able to mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers "in the face of fear spawned by the fake narco list among local officials."

"We have witnessed how the youth and students rallied behind our Otso Diretso candidates and this is proof that we have captured their imagination and that the seeds of a critical.mass of voters willing to stand up to the excesses of this regime have been planted.," Pangilinan said.

"Admittedly, we could have done better, but better is a function of resources. Pero, wait lang kayo, di pa tapos ang boksing," he added.

Door-to-door campaign

The opposition coalition, composed of eight senatorial candidates carrying separate platforms and issues, launched what could be considered a grassroots campaign where they enlisted the help of thousands of volunteers to introduce them to the Filipino voters.

The campaign sorties of the opposition slate began in Caloocan City on February 12, where they went door-to-door and person-to-person to introduce themselves to the public as official candidates in the May 13 polls for the very first time.

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This was followed on February 13 by the official campaign kick-off in Naga City in Camarines Sur, the bailiwick of Vice President Leni Robredo, where all eight candidates of the slate rallied votes from the residents of the city.

Throughout the next two months, the candidates hopped from one place to another, visiting the most far-flung communities and speaking even before a handful of people, just to get their message across.

Along with this, the candidates also went around markets and neighborhoods to personally meet and talk to the locals of the places they visit.

"Ang ating pangunahing lakas ay nasa mga kandidato natin mismo: mga taong mapagkakatiwalaan at maaasahan, mga taong may kasaysayan ng paglilingkod sa bayan, mga taong inaalay ang lakas, talino, at panahon para sa tama," Otso Diretso campaign manager Senator Francis Pangilinan said in an earlier statement.

Battlegrounds

The opposition slate focused on vote-rich provinces,  considered as battlegrounds of the elections.

Among the places they visited are Cebu, Bacolod City, Bulacan, General Santos City, Digos City, Dasmariñas City, Dumaguete City, Bohol, Masinloc in Zambales, Iloilo, Aklan, Cagayan De Oro City, Pangasinan, Isabela, and Quezon province.

The slate in fact visited Cebu three times, on February 21, March 25 and 26, and April 28 --- with Robredo and former President Benigno Aquino III on the first two instances.

Cebu is most vote-rich province in the May 13 elections, with over three million voters.

Strategy

The miting de avance at UP was only the third instance that all eight opposition senatorial candidates appeared together.  The two others were before the Cebuano voters and in Naga City.

Robredo, LP chairperson, explained that individual campaigning has been their strategy from the very start to maximize their time and to be able to cover the entire country.

"From the very start, ganun naman yung plano na magco-converge sa mahahalagang mga lalawigan, pero most of the time talagang spread-out yung plano. Kasi talagang kulang na kulang yung araw para makaikot sa Pilipinas," she said in an interview during the slate's April 28 visit in Cebu.

Apart from the provinces, the opposition slate also campaigned in several areas in Metro Manila, including Muntinlupa City, Marikina City, Mandaluyong City, the Baseco area in Tondo, Manila, and Quezon City.

They even flew to Hong Kong on March 10 to meet with the overseas Filipino workers there. As of February 2019, there are about 87,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong who are qualified to vote in the 2019 polls through overseas absentee voting. —LDF, GMA News