Five key senatorial contenders of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas party joined Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s “suroy-suroy” caravan, aiming to secure support from the 3.4 million registered voters in the country’s most vote-rich province.
Senate veterans Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, Deputy Speaker Camille Villar, and Senator Pia Cayetano visited more than a dozen cities and towns under Garcia’s One Cebu Party.
The two-day excursion, combining heritage tours and grassroots engagement, underscores Alyansa’s intensified push to strengthen its Visayas base ahead of the May midterm elections.
Sotto, who has principally authored 259 laws, showcased initiatives on calamity response, family courts, and the creation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
He reiterated plans to institutionalize the 14th month pay and criminalize fake news. “If we institutionalize the 14th month pay, it can be given in June when parents pay tuition,” Sotto said.
Lacson, a longtime fiscal watchdog, praised Garcia’s leadership, citing Cebu’s 2023 gross domestic product of 411 billion pesos—a six percent increase.
He pledged to bolster the Department of Tourism’s budget if reelected, saying, “Cebu deserves continued support for tourism and development.”
Pacquiao, a former senator and internationally recognized boxing champion, highlighted his fight against poverty and corruption.
Villar pledged to continue her family’s legacy of public service by prioritizing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), job creation, and affordable housing.
Cayetano, known for her legislative work on women’s rights, promoted key reforms such as the Magna Carta of Women, the Expanded Breastfeeding Act, and the Reproductive Health Law.
She also helped enact the Food and Drugs Administration Law, Sin Tax Reform Law, and Universal Cheaper Medicine Act, and authored the mandatory Hepatitis B vaccination law for newborns.
Other members of the Alyansa slate include former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Senator Lito Lapid, Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino, and ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo.
This marks the second time Alyansa candidates have participated in Governor Garcia’s “suroy-suroy,” following a similar campaign swing in southern Cebu late last month.
Business News Asia
