In an election climate marred by fake news, disinformation and hate in social media, the ordinary person may ask: will the 2022 elections be any different from that in 2016?
Not if supporters of Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo could help it.
Despite surveys reputedly showing Robredo’s “poor” standing among voters, and despite the increasing wave of online harassment that now threatens to spill over to real life, many of the volunteers who continue to pitch their support for the vice president are willing to give their time, money and resources for her victory in the May 9 polls.
The spirit of “bayanihan,” volunteerism and patriotism was palpable in Robredo’s recent series of campaign activities in Laguna province, which culminated in a rally in San Pedro City last February 11.
In fact, the event’s organizers had to keep the number of attendees low – despite what they report was a massive response – to follow government guidelines on mass gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Hindi po mahalaga sa amin na “kaunti” lang ang nakiisa sa event na ito – gayong marami po ang nais na makiisa, gusto rin naming ipakita na kami ay sumusunod sa batas at kami ay may concern sa aming supporters lalo na ngayong panahon ng pandemiya,” a campaign organizer told OpinYon Laguna.
Advocates for clean government
Most of the supporters and volunteers who joined the vice-president’s rally in San Pedro were composed of the youth sector who said they saw in Robredo their “ideal” traits for clean government.
“Napili ko pong magvolunteer kay VP Leni dahil alam ko na siya ay isang tapat at maasahan na pinuno,” Jacob Letun, a campaign volunteer, told OpinYon Laguna.
Citing Robredo’s track record in her six years as vice president, Letun said she believes she has all the qualifications to lead the country out of the impacts of the pandemic.
“She is also a consensus builder and inspires the bayanihan spirit. Karapat-dapat siya maging Presidente dahil siya ay may proven track record of transparency and accountability, may karanasan sa pampublikong serbisyo at may matino at kongketong plano para sa bayan,” he added.
Robredo’s track record was also what changed the mind of volunteer Migs Paco, who admitted that he was once a supporter of one of her most formidable rivals.
“Lahat ng paninira noon kay VP Leni, even though walang concrete evidence, shine-share ko parin as in lahat ng libelous walang makakapigil saakin kasi alam ko no'n na wala talagang kakayahan sa pamumuno si VP Leni at dahil dilaw din siya,” he admitted.
As a form of what he called “repentance,” Paco is now devoting extra effort for the Robredo campaign, he told OpinYon Laguna.
“This act of volunteering din kasi is not only for myself, para rin ito sa lahat para sa mga nasa laylayan, nahihirapan dulot ng pandemya, pahirap sa atin,” he said.
Youth will decide elections
This increased interest and active participation of the youth in this year’s elections – despite the continuing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic – could just as well be the decisive factor in the presidential race, according to political analysts.
This is considering that 37 million – or more than half – of the 62 million registered voters (according to data from the Commission on Elections) belong to the youth.
Ironically, the current situation of the country’s education sector, with face-to-face classes suspended and most students spending their time online, may have triggered this renewed interest among the youth in political matters.
Not only do they have more leisure time (as they weren’t even allowed to go out of their homes during the early stages of the pandemic) but they have more ample opportunities to educate themselves outside of the so-called “four corners” of the classroom.
In spite of the perceived dismal standing of Robredo in surveys, many of her supporters and volunteers believe that their example could help turn the tide around and inspire voters to rise above petty politics and think of the future of their children and of the nation.