Some of our reporters who attended the political rally organized for former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and his running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio in San Pedro City two weeks ago recently shared their own observations regarding the two candidates.
One: while it may appear that most of the province’s rank-and-file officials are throwing their hats into the BBM-Sara campaign, the observation was that they are actually putting themselves behind the younger Duterte alone.
Case in point: many local officials are wearing green – Sara’s official campaign color – instead of red, the color of Bongbong.
And a candidate for representative of one of Laguna’s most progressive districts was reportedly reluctant to be at the same stage with Marcos at one point.
Perfectly understandable for this candidate, since their coalition’s opponent has clearly sided with Bongbong.
The speculation was that this candidate for mayor in that city was trying to use the younger Marcos’ supposed popularity with the masses as an edge against his opponents’ track record during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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But what struck our reporters more is the vastly different posturing of these two candidates.
Sara Duterte-Carpio, for instance, immediately drew the attention of the crowd at that rally, they reported.
She had what you can call “commanding presence,” and almost everybody at the gathering hung on her every word.
And like her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, the Davao City Mayor was clearly unafraid to step into the crowd and mingle with her supporters – to the chagrin of her security staff.
Bongbong, on the other hand, tried to project an image of a movie star – he was wearing shades as if he’s a matinee idol.
Also noticeable, our reporters said, is how he’s blatantly showing the image of a guy who’s led a life of ease – unlike Sara, he just hung back at the stage and waited for his supporters to approach him, like a potentate.
Almost all of the attention of the crowd went to Sara – which is surprising, considering that Bongbong was carried by Laguna province during his bitterly-contested 2016 vice presidential bid.
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As we have seen in past elections, the lack of an “organized” party system like those in Western countries meant that voters will have a more divided choice for president and vice president.
In the last two elections – in 2010 and 2016 – the president and the vice president have come from opposing coalitions.
Sara’s and Bongbong’s individual popularity with the masses may be their greatest asset – but, unless managed properly, it could turn out to be their biggest liability if their supporters decide to split their votes in the 2022 elections.