Lacson, Sotto to Maintain Focus on Voter Enlightenment in Last Month of Campaign

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Enlightening and educating the voters will remain the focus of independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson and his vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III in the homestretch of the campaign period.

Lacson said Saturday they will convince Filipino voters to base their choices not on what the surveys dictate but on what they believe are the candidates' qualifications and competence.

"We will continue to educate and enlighten our electorate. Qualification ang tingnan, hindi popularity. Sino ba may kakayahan, sino ang may experience, sino ang may competence and qualification, yan ang piliin nila. Huwag nila isipin boboto nila baka masayang ang boto (Look at qualifications, not popularity. Vote for who has the competence, experience and qualifications and get rid of the mentality that you will waste your votes just because the competent or qualified candidate is not leading in the surveys)," Lacson said at the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City.

He said Filipinos have been suffering for so long because they have failed to elect the most qualified candidates in past elections - and deserve a much needed break via a leadership that will see them through these challenging times.

Lacson also said he and Sotto will continue their approach of directly going to the people through consultations.

"We deserve nothing less. Ang Filipino for the longest time we have suffered. Dapat bigyan ng break. We are offering ourselves with all our competence, qualification, and experience para makabuti ang buhay ng ating kababayan (We deserve nothing less. Filipinos for the longest time have suffered, and need a break. Senate President Sotto and I are offering ourselves with all our competence, qualification and experience to improve the lives of our fellow Filipinos)," he said.

For his part, Sotto said the next Congress may want to look into filing a bill to regulate surveys to counter their undue influence on voters' minds.

Sotto added surveys have not been a guarantee that a "leading" candidate would deliver Filipinos from their poverty and other problems. Thus, he said it is better that voters use their conscience and discernment in choosing their candidates.

"Sa atin, konsensya, kaisipan ng botante. Kahit mag-isa ka bumoto sa taong yan... malinis ang konsensya at kalooban mo (Let your conscience be your guide. Even if you think you are the only one who votes for a certain candidate, you will feel good because you followed your conscience)," he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson and Sotto said they still have much in the tank to keep up with their hectic schedule. Lacson said he will rely on adrenaline and vitamins, while Sotto said he will take vitamins, exercise, and prayers.

But more importantly, Lacson said a clean conscience will help them sustain their campaign.

"Pag malinis ang konsensya mo, magaan ang buhay. Pero kung masama ang plano mo, iba ang purpose mo, palagay ko maski ang taong walang konsensya babagabagin ng konsensya sa gabi (When you have a clean conscience, you will feel much lighter. But if you are scheming and have other agenda, even those without consciences will be bothered when they sleep at night)," he said.