MANILA, Philippines – In a city where he lost to his chief rival in the  2010 vice presidential race,  Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II made a simple request: Help us boost our numbers or risk the end of the vaunted “Daang Matuwid (Straight Path).”

Taking the cue from his running mate, Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo, Roxas mentioned his survey numbers hovering at around 20%, putting him at a deadlock or behind his chief rivals for the presidency. Unlike most candidates, Roxas has never topped preference polls.

“Sabi ni Leni, nagsimula siya nasa 1%, ngayon nasa 20. Si Mar Roxas, nagsimula nasa 4% ngayon, nasa 20 rin. Pakiusap namin sa inyo, dagdag pa more dahil kung hanggang 20 lang kami ni Leni, hindi namin maipagpapatuloy ang Daang Matuwid,” Roxas told a crowd of supporters in Parañaque city on Tuesday, March 1.

(Leni said earlier that she started at 1% and is now at 20%. I started at 4% and now I’m at 20% too. We ask of you: let’s raise those numbers because if Leni and I only get 20%, we won’t be able to continue the Straight Path.)

Parañaque is part of the National Capital Region (NCR), which has highest concentration of voters in the country. NCR has more than 6.2 million registered voters, while Parañaque has over 291,000 registered voters for the 2016 national elections.

On Tuesday, the LP tandem visited 3 cities south of vote-rich Metro Manila: Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Muntinlupa.

“Kaya hinihingi po namin ang inyong tulong. Hinihingi namin ang inyong suporta, hinihingi namin na ipabalita ninyo, tiyakin po ninyo sa inyong mga komunidad, kapitbahay, sa inyong mga kakilala ang magandang balita ng Daang Matuwid. Ang mga magagandang natagumpayan na at ang magagandang bukas na mapaparating natin sa ating sarili kung magpapatuloy tayo sa Daang Matuwid,” said Roxas.

(I ask for your help. We ask for your help in telling your communities, neighbors, and friends of the good news of Daang Matuwid. Tell them about the triumphs and the future victories that we’ll achieve if we continue along the Straight Path.)

In her speech, Robredo made the same appeal, calling on supporters in Parañaque to campaign for her and Roxas.

“Daang Matuwid” is the catchphrase for the current administration’s transparency, good governance, and anti-corruption program. Roxas, Robredo and their senate slate are campaigning on the promise of continuing these supposed reforms. (READ: Can ‘Daang Matuwid’ win a Philippine election?)

“Dagdag pa more para sa Daang Matuwid (More for Daang Matuwid),” said Roxas.

Asked to elaborate on his appeal, the former Cabinet official told reporters this means stepping up the campaign and convincing more voters to favor the administration candidates.

“[Ito ay] dagdag pa more and kampanya, dagdag pa more ang pagkukumbinsi….Hinihikayat natin, iniimbita natin ang ating mga kababayan, ang mga supporters na dagdag pa more sa pagkakampanya (This means step up the campaign, efforts to convince others….We are encouraging, inviting our people, the supporters, to work harder in campaigning for us.) – Rappler.com