THE TIME HAS COME FOR FILIPINOS TO WIN’

By Duterte Media Group

CARCAR, CEBU — Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte once again raised a clenched fist before thousands of supporters here on March 21, boldly proclaiming his protest against what he says is the systemic oppression of the Filipino people by the government.

The clenched fist has been Duterte’s expression of protest and has now become the symbol of his revolution against massive practices of corruption, criminality, and illegal drugs that the state has failed to stop.

The clenched fist has also been symbolic of Duterte’s love for the country.

In Carcar, the presidential candidate professed his love of country and the Filipino people by singing part of the popular protest hymn Bayan Ko.

It was short but impassioned, his voice cracking and soaring as he ended his part with “…aking adhika, makita kang sakdal laya.”

And the crowd sang along. And when the song number ended — led by a young girl in a Filipiniana dress — the crowd cheered, many of them raising their fists.

His running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who is running for vice president, also joined Duterte in raising his clenched fist.

Cayetano said it is time for the Filipino people to embrace the Duterte brand of strong and decisive leadership.

Meanwhile, the Duterte’s campaign manager said they are working doubly hard to cover more grounds as the first half of the campaign period is winding down.

“Persistence and hard work will be key to victory,” outgoing Maribojoc, Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco Jr. said.

His statement came amid a report that Duterte is now in a virtual tie with Senator Grace Poe in voter preference for the presidential race.

In a survey commissioned by ABS-CBN and conducted by Pulse Asia, Duterte with 25% is in a virtual tie with Grace Poe who got 26%.

With a margin of error of 1.5%, Duterte is finally catching up with the poll leaders for the first time since the presidential campaign period started on Feb. 9.

“We are where we are comfortable right now. We expect to gain more points as we move towards the second half of the campaign,” Evasco added.

What is more revealing, he said, is that Duterte gained more grounds during the week of the survey when the Supreme Court overturned a Comelec decision to disqualify Poe. The survey involved more than 4,000 respondents and was conducted from March 8 to 13.

The Supreme Court decision allowing Poe to run for the president came out on March 8.

The former chief of staff of Duterte credited the rise of Duterte’s ranking to the clamor of the people for genuine change in the national leadership.

“There is this growing groundswell of discontent among the people and they see in Duterte the strong leadership that the country has been wanting over the last decade,” Evasco explained.

While being cautious about momentum, Evasco said the Holy Week will provide them opportunity to assess how Duterte gained more converts.

“Of course, we are happy with the results of the survey,” he further said.

Meanwhile, Duterte media head Peter Lavina also explained that the result of the debate in Cebu on Sunday could further boost the mayor’s image as a decisive leader.

In his closing statement after the 3-hour debate, Duterte promised to provide leadership in the fractured country.