BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The opposition senatorial candidates will once again bank on volunteers in the vote-rich Negros Occidental for the 2019 elections. But unlike in Cebu, Otso Diretso has a key ally to help woo the Ilonggo vote: former governor Lito Coscolluela.

The two-time Galing Pook awardee turned convenor of the multi-sectoral coalition Pahimud-Os Negros said he and other Otso Diretso volunteers plan to channel “people power” to campaign for the candidates.

“The problem has been, really, there are so many people who want to help the campaign of Otso Diretso but they didn’t know where to go. And you probably know that the opposition is really, you know, very low in terms of resources, even in terms of political support from elected officials,” Coscolluela told reporters on Friday, February 22, at Bacolod City.

“So this is an expression of people power, of volunteerism, and we’re hoping we can duplicate the efforts [we did] before for Vice President [Leni Robredo]. If enough people speak up, speak out, and actually go out and campaign actively, we believe we can still win this elections,” he added.

In Bacolod, several campaign volunteers got the chance to meet and ask questions to 5 of the Otso Diretso bets – Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, Marawi civic leader Samira Gutoc, ex-solicitor general Florin Hilbay, and ex-Quezon congressman Erin Tañada.

Ex-interior chief Mar Roxas, who is still out of the country after welcoming his newborn twins from a surrogate, was represented by his first cousin, chef Margarita Fores. Reelectionist Senator Bam Aquino was represented by his wife Timi Aquino, while veteran election lawyer Romy Macalintal’s son-in-law Ace Bautista stood in for him.

Wooing the Ilonggo vote is crucial for Otso Diretso, as Negros Occidental is the 5th most vote-rich province in the country with 1,889,200 voters registered for the May polls. 

Negros Occidental is part of Western Visayas, which is also comprised of the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Aklan, and Guimaras – the bailiwick of Roxas and the once-ruling Liberal Party (LP).

Strong support from Coscolluela 

Coscolluela clarified he was just a volunteer for Otso Diretso, not the slate’s official campaign manager in Negros Occidental.

While he has spoken to Aquino as well as Otso Diretso campaign manager Senator Francis Pangilinan, Coscolluela said their discussion focused mostly on the strategy of campaigning for the slate, not the organizational structure.

During the 2016 presidential elections, Coscolluela was the provincial chairman of “Friends of Mar and Leni”, the parallel organization that campaigned in this province for then-LP standard-bearer Roxas and his running mate Robredo.

But Coscolluela resigned a month before the May 2016 elections due to conflicts with the national headquarters.

There is no bad blood, however, as Coscolluela’s endorsement of Otso Diretso, including Roxas, was peppered with praises for the candidates’ track records.

“I took it upon myself together with our group, Paghimud-Os, to start a campaign. And now we are asking those directly connected with either the candidates or with Otso Diretso or the LP national, let’s work together,” said Coscolluela. – Rappler.com