MANILA, Philippines – Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao will visit Pangasinan – his first foray into Marcos territory during the campaign period.

Pacquiao is set to spend two days in the vote-rich province, from Wednesday, March 2, to Thursday, March 3, going around Binmaley, Lingayen, Malasiqui, Dagupan City, San Carlos City, and Urdaneta City.

The presidential bet is expected to pay a courtesy visit to local officials.

In Pangasinan, the support for dictator son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s candidacy has crossed party lines. Re-electionist Governor Amado Espino and gubernatorial bet Ramon Guico III, currently the 5th district Representative, are both endorsing Marcos Jr.’s candidacy. Dagupan City Mayor Brian Lim and the De Venecia and Celeste political families have all announced their support of Marcos Jr.

Guico even claimed that Marcos Jr. could possibly receive 90% of the votes in the province, according to a CNN Philippines report.

Pangasinan has about 2.1 million registered voters – ranking 3rd in the list of vote-rich provinces in the country.

The province is part of the Ilocos Region, the so-called “Solid North” that is Marcos’ bailiwick. In 2016, 60% of Pangasinenses voted for Marcos Jr.’s candidacy.

In October 2021, before the campaign season officially started, Pacquiao has already visited Binmaley, Urdaneta, and Dagupan, where the senator distributed relief packs to fisherfolk. – Rappler.com