MANILA, Philippines – Just a few days after his neighboring governors endorsed Vice President Leni Robredo for president, Samar Governor Reynolds Michael Tan promised a win margin of at least 100,000 for the Uniteam alliance tandem.

Samar is home to over 597,000 registered voters in 2022, according to government data.

Tan made the comment on the sidelines of a gathering of the province’s mayors and barangay officials on Wednesday, March 16. The gathering happened not in Samar, but at the Manila Hotel. 

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, vice presidential candidate of Lakas-CMD in the Uniteam alliance, visited the gathering. Some members of the slate joined her at the hotel. 

According to Tan, 19 out of 21 mayors in the province are also backing Duterte and her running mate, presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.  

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Asked why Samar officials were in Manila, Tan said local leaders had attended a gathering of barangay officials and extended their stay in Manila to have an audience with the vice presidential candidate. Tan said the trip was funded by his local party. 

“In our province, 101% ang support namin sa BBM-Sara tandem,” said Tan. 

Asked why the figure went beyond 100%, Tan said in jest, “Lampas na siya dahil hanggang Manila na kami (It went over because we’ve reached Manila),” he said. 

Tan is a member of the Nacionalista Party but said his endorsement of Marcos Jr. and Duterte is an individual decision and not that of his party. 

Marcos Jr. lost to Robredo in Samar but by a slim margin – 128,401 votes for Marcos Jr and 132,775 for Robredo. 

President Rodrigo Duterte, Sara’s father, lost in Samar by a fairly wide margin. Robredo’s 2016 running mate Mar Roxas won the presidential race in Samar. Duterte was a distant third, getting only over 68,000 votes. — Rappler.com