‘Bayanihan spirit’: Leni-Kiko supporters pass the hat, work pro bono for Zamboanga rally

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Supporters of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan, are pooling their resources to build a stage at the Cesar C. Climaco Freedom Park in Pasonanca where they expect the biggest campaign rally so far this year in the Zamboanga Peninsula on Thursday, March 17.

“We feel challenged by their grand rally in Bacolod,” said Chester Tolentino who is coordinating efforts for the scheduled political rally in the city this week.

The Robredo-Pangilinan ticket’s rally in Bacolod on March 11 drew an estimated crowd of 70,000, the biggest so far for the group that has been seeing a groundswell during its campaign sorties lately.

Tolentino said they would not compete with their counterparts in Bacolod, but were inspired by the Negrenses’ fervor.

“It’s the Bayanihan spirit that matters,” Tolentino said.

The site of the scheduled rally is symbolic – it was named in honor of the late Zamboanga mayor Cesar Climaco, one of the fiercest voices against the Marcos dictatorship in Mindanao in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Climaco was assassinated shortly after he checked on a fire that broke out in downtown Zamboanga on November 14, 1984.

Neil Dalena, an architect who volunteered to help in building the stage, said several local businessmen and professionals passed the hat so they could build a stage at the park.

All the materials were donated by supporters of the Robredo-Pangilinan ticket, and engineer Marjorie Prado is overseeing the project’s structural component based on the design of architects Keith San Antonio, Rebecca Abis, and Dalena. 

The main stage, based on their design, would be 16 x 13 meters, excluding a ramp.

Veterinarian Anton Mari Lim, another Zamboangueño helping in the Robredo-Pangilinan campaign, said many residents sent their contributions to ensure that the Zamboanga City leg of the ticket’s campaign sortie would be a success.

“This is truly a people’s campaign. Aside from water, food, ice cream, street food, transportation, stage design, and other creatives, we have been printing and donating Leni-Kiko shirts to ensure people who cannot afford campaign shirts can have one,” Lim said. – Rappler.com

Frencie Carreon is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship