Youth vote to propel Gibo victory, says spokesman

With less than a week before judgment day, the camp of Lakas-Kampi-CMD Teodoro has expressed confidence of a victorious ending amid the grueling campaign, which saw his poll chances surging at this homestretch, on the strength of the formidable support of young voters.

Apart from the youth vote, former press secretary Mike Toledo said Gibo’s candidacy is also riding high on the wings of last Sunday’s endorsement by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ: The Name Above Every Name.

This congregation, which is headquartered in Davao City, boasts some six million members spread across the Philippines and over a hundred more countries worldwide.

Toledo, Gibo’s campaign spokesman and director of the G1BO 2010 Media Bureau, stressed anew the ruling party is pinning high hopes on the voters, especially the young Filipinos who are at the frontlines of his “green” corps of volunteers.

“Isa sa mga talagang lakas o pillars ng support para sa kandidatura ni Gibo ay ang kabataan. At alam naman natin, 52% ng boboto sa darating na halalan ay manggagaling sa kabataan. (One of the real strength or pillars for the candidacy of Gibo is the youth. We know for a fact that 52% of the voters comes from the youth),” Toledo said in a radio interview.

Playing down the survey results of polling firms based in Manila, Toledo pointed out there are surveys from non-traditional groups that show Gibo in No. 1 or No. 2 spots.

“Kaya makikita mo, may mga surveys na talagang nagna-No.1 na siya, nagna-No. 2. Kaya para sa amin, tinitingnan namin iyan, sige, however, we do not rely on that, we base it on our campaign and what we see on the ground, at kami po’y naniniwala na magiging maganda ang kalalabasan sa May 10, 2010 (If you see, there are surveys that he is number one or number two already. We just look at those surveys, however, we do not rely on them. Based on our campaign and what we see on the ground, we believe the outcome of May 10, 2010 will be favorable to him),” Toledo said.

Gibo rammed home the message of the vital importance of every Filipino vote on May 10 in a recent sortie in Siquijor.

“Tatayo tayo at hindi tayo papayag na hindi madinig kasi kahit gaano ka-pobre ang isang tao, ang kanyang boto sagrado [We will all stand and we will not agree not to be heard, no matter how poor a person is, because his vote is sacred], and nobody can say that that vote is taken for granted,” Toledo said on radio.

Last Saturday in Cebu City, a total of 128 incumbent congressmen, governors and candidates of the ruling party vying for local positions converged anew in the vote-rich province in yet another impressive show of force to reaffirm their 100% support for Gibo.

Amids green banners and the crescendo of cheers of Cebu-based Gibo volunteers and supporters, a manifesto of support entitled ”The Cebu Declaration.” was signed by the officers and members of the ruling party present at the grand ballroom of the Marco Polo Hotel.

In an impressive show of solidarity, the 128 delegates, vowed to continue their support for Gibo’s presidential bid “to the very end,” and to rally their respective constituents to break their silence and make their support felt for the Lakas-Kampi-CMD bet this last week leading to Election Day.

Also in Cebu last week, more than 100,000 people combined flocked to the different rallies and other engagements of Gibo in his two-day Cebu campaign offensive, capped Wednesday night by the attendance of more than 30,000 people here who braved rainfall to listen to him talk about the road to change and a better Philippines.

Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu, third district) has said that his family and One Cebu are campaigning hard for Gibo in a bid to rack up 60 percent of Cebu’s 1.8 million votes in his favor, or roughly one million votes.

President Arroyo is believed to have won over her chief rival, the late Fernando Poe Jr., in the 2004 presidential elections partly because of the one million votes that she got in Cebu.

Two weeks ago, Gibo was also in vote-rich Cebu province to bask in the support showered on him by at least 41 incumbent governors and gubernatorial candidates led by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia who comprise the Governors for Gibo (G4G) or Team Palabra de Honor.

G4G is the new caucus of governors that met at the Marco Polo Hotel to vow to stand by the Lakas-Kampi CMD standard-bearer and deliver for him the highest possible number of votes in their respective localities come Election Day.

On top of these governors, at least 168 congressional candidates, 71 of them incumbent legislators, also pledged their support for Gibo's presidential bid in a meeting at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, which was held a day before the Marco Polo meeting in Cebu City.

On Saturday night, an estimated 10,000 volunteers and supporters of Gibo jammed, danced, prayed and whooped it up with rock bands Rivermaya and Razorback at the exhilarating Miting de Avance on Labor Day at the Folk Arts Theater grounds near Roxas Boulevard.

Dubbed “Sakay Na, Sulong Na! Gibo Rocks the Youth Vote 2010,” the “party” featured Tarlac Rep. Nikki Teodoro, wife of the former defense secretary, and local celebrities who had been toiling anonymously in the “Green Team,” including celebrities David Celdran, Joey Javier Reyes, Manoling Morato, Miriam Quiambao and Hermie Esguerra, among others.

Most of those who attended the concert came from either of the five convergence points in the metropolis where motorcades with the participation of over 500 vehicles combined had taken off in the afternoon en route to ground zero.

Toledo reiterated that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD juggernaut and his apparent lock on the votes of students and other young voters—they make up the majority of this year's electorate—will ensure his victory come May 10.

Among the volunteer groups mounting parallel “green rallies” to broaden Gibo’s constituency and ensure his victory in the presidential race are Volunteers for Gibo of Andrew Masigan; Mahal Ko, Bayan Ko of Evelyn Kilayko; Green Team 2010; G-Squad; Animo Gibo; Palit-Galing Movement; Friends of Ramos for Teodoro; and GTBrigada Gibo. -30-