Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) — After dropping two candidates from their Senate slate, the Lacson-Sotto tandem got a boost with the show of support of a guest candidate during their campaign sortie in vote-rich Laguna on Tuesday.
Former Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II joined presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III during a town hall event in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
Lacson called it a “pleasant surprise” — Honasan helping them woo voters for the first time on Day 15 of the official campaign period.
“Di ko napigilan ang sarili ko na yakapin siya kanina kasi nang makita ko na kasama rin siya sa aming entablado talagang it was really a pleasant surprise,” Lacson told reporters.
[Translation: I could not stop myself from hugging him because when I saw that he is also in the stage with us, it was really a pleasant surprise.]
“Kasi alam niyo naman sa Senate kami ang original na macho bloc (Because you know in the Senate we are the original macho bloc),” Lacson said, referring to his group with Sotto, Honasan, and Senator Lito Lapid.
Meanwhile, Sotto said it was “good timing” that it happened on February 22 — the same day the macho bloc was formed years ago, which also coincides with the start of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Honasan took part in the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship as the chief security aide of then defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile.
As a comebacking senator, Honasan is now part of the Senate slate of the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos. The younger Marcos is eyeing Malacañang with presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as his vice president.
Honasan is an independent candidate and guest in both Lacson-Sotto and Marcos-Duterte senatorial lineups.
The former Information and Communications Technology Secretary is also among the senatorial bets endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte. The chief executive has yet to anoint a successor.
In a short speech at the Lacson-Sotto event, Honasan was all praises for his former colleagues, while reminding voters to choose wisely.
“Ang pangunahing pangangailangan ng ating lipunan, ng ating demokrasya ay kaayusan. Iyan po ang plataporma at programa ni Senador Ping Lacson at ni Senator Tito Sotto,” Honasan said.
[Translation: The primary need of our society and democracy is order. That’s the platform and prorgram of Senators Ping Lacson and Tito Sotto.]
As the election season heats up, Honasan reminded voters: “Kailangan patapos ng halalan magkaisang muli (We need to unite again after the elections).”
Earlier, Lacson and Sotto removed from their Senate slate former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and reelectionist Senator Sherwin Gatchalian. The two hopefuls are now exclusive to the Marcos-Duterte lineup, with Bautista stating he can now freely and openly campaign for the UniTeam.
Meanwhile, also joining Lacson and Sotto on Tuesday are Senate bets JV Ejercito, Guillermo Eleazar, Minguita Padilla, and Manny Piñol. Despite the torrential rains, they went around Laguna, starting early with a visit to the Sta. Cruz Public Market, then to a town hall meeting with various sectors, and a tour of the University of the Philippines Los Baños-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology — where they affirmed support for research and development.
They also paid a courtesy call on Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez and Vice Governor Karen Agapay who are partymates of Duterte in PDP-Laban.
