Philippine presidential candidates in final push to woo voters

MANILA: Philippine presidential candidates will maintain remaining election rallies this week because the marketing campaign enters its homestretch, in a contest that has formed right into a two-way race between frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his principal rival Leni Robredo.
Marcos, the son and namesake of the ousted chief who dominated the nation for twenty years, has a large lead in polls over the incumbent vp, Robredo, forward of the Could 9 poll.
The frontrunner, who is because of maintain on Tuesday the primary of three massive rallies this week, seems on the verge of finishing a once-unthinkable rebranding of the Marcos household title 36 years after a “individuals energy” rebellion ended his father’s rule.
Political analysts say his path towards the presidency has been aided by a decades-long public relations effort to change public notion of his household, whilst critics accuse the Marcoses of making an attempt to rewrite historical past.
“I believe they (the Marcos marketing campaign) have … the benefit of crafting an interesting narrative, which we all know distorts the historic reality and but has in some way appealed to many citizens,” mentioned retired political professor Temario Rivera.
Marcos has pushed a message of unity in his marketing campaign, whilst rivals sought to spotlight the plundering of the nation’s wealth through the harsh authoritarian rule of his late father.
A survey performed by unbiased pollster Pulse Asia in mid-April confirmed 56 % of two,400 respondents mentioned they’d vote for Marcos if the election was held throughout that interval, whereas 23 % mentioned they’d again Robredo.
Former boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao, and Manila mayor, Francisco Domagoso, had 7 % and 4 % help, respectively. The final day of official campaigning is on Saturday.
Robredo final week challenged Marcos to a debate so voters can scrutinize their characters and visions, however the former senator declined saying he most well-liked to talk on to the general public.
The 2 have a bitter rivalry, with Robredo’s affiliation firmly with the motion that took to the streets to topple his father in 1986.
Regardless of Marcos’s commanding lead, Robredo has attracted tens of 1000’s of individuals to her latest marketing campaign rallies, help which some analysts say might not have been absolutely captured within the newest survey.
“We’re feeling assured going into the final week of the marketing campaign,” mentioned Robredo marketing campaign spokesperson Barry Gutierrez.
Marcos, 64, has mentioned he wouldn’t let his sturdy exhibiting in polls distract him from work wanted to make sure victory.
Robredo and Marcos will maintain rallies within the central Philippines on Tuesday, with the frontrunner due within the province of Iloilo and his rival in Panay island and Bacolod metropolis.