By Ellson Quismorio
Senatorial candidate Christopher "Bong" Go has begun to address a topic that has been considered as “taboo” in Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) sorties - that of the Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-backed slate having 13 bets instead of just 12.
The former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) even went as far as to tell how audiences should handle the regional party's conundrum, or else risk wasting their vote on May 13.
Christopher "Bong" Go
(HNP / MANILA BULLETIN) In Wednesday’s sortie in Las Piñas City, Go pointed to the digital backdrop showing the faces of all 13 HNP Senate aspirants and said: "Dose lang po ang dapat ninyong i-shade , paalala lang po (You should only shade 12 numbers on the ballot, just a reminder)" "Kasi magiging invalid po ang inyong mga boto kung gagawin niyong ishe-shade yung trese. So paalala lang po, dose (Because your votes will be invalid if you shade like 13 candidates. So just a reminder, only 12)," explained Go. The computerized vote counting machines to be used by Comelec in the coming May polls can only recognize ballots with no more than 12 votes cast for the senatorial race, since only 12 seats are up for grabs. Ballots with 13 or more votes among senatorial bets will be automatically chucked out. Knowing this, the somewhat confident Go advised the crowd to go vote for his 12 stablemates, which would mean that he would he would become the odd man out. "Kahit na unahin niyo lahat yan, yang dose po. Ako, ok lang po sakin kahit panghuli napo ako (You can prioritize all of those, that 12. Me, I'm fine with being the last one)." According to Go, voters would have a hard time forgetting about him on election day anyway, since everyday objects like traffic lights would remind them of him. "Alam niyo kung bakit? Di ba pag nagmamaneho kayo, kapag traffic, ano yung pula? Stop. Ano yung green? Go. Malilimutan niyo ako? Hindi di ba (You know why? Because whenever you drive, and you're at a traffic stop, what does the red light say? Stop. What about the green light? Go. Will you forget me? Of course not)," he said. Go gave another version of his new "leave me behind" speech earlier that day during a campaign sortie in Parañaque City. "Dose lang po ang dapat niyong piliin. Anyway, para sa akin, pwede niyo napong unahin yung dose . Ako naman, mauna na lang po dito sa puso ninyo (You should only pick 12. Anyway, for me, you can prioritize these 12 on the ballot. Me. I'll be the first one in your hearts)." Among the 13 HNP bets, Go is the closest personally to President Rodrigo Duterte, having served as his aide for years. Incidentally, Go is also the second highest-placed HNP candidate in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. He is now ranked third, right next to the second-rank Senator Cynthia Villar who is also being carried by HNP. HNP campaign manager Mayor Duterte is the daughter of President Duterte. Last month, the lady chief executive confirmed there's conscious effort from them to not mention that they are pulling for a total of 13 candidates during public rallies. “That’s why we don’t mention that we are endorsing 13 candidates and you can listen during the rallies, we don’t say that. We only present them onstage and we let the voters choose from the candidates onstage,” she was quoted as saying. However, Mayor Duterte makes sure to introduce her senatorial candidates one by one to the crowd during such events.
Christopher "Bong" Go(HNP / MANILA BULLETIN) In Wednesday’s sortie in Las Piñas City, Go pointed to the digital backdrop showing the faces of all 13 HNP Senate aspirants and said: "Dose lang po ang dapat ninyong i-shade , paalala lang po (You should only shade 12 numbers on the ballot, just a reminder)" "Kasi magiging invalid po ang inyong mga boto kung gagawin niyong ishe-shade yung trese. So paalala lang po, dose (Because your votes will be invalid if you shade like 13 candidates. So just a reminder, only 12)," explained Go. The computerized vote counting machines to be used by Comelec in the coming May polls can only recognize ballots with no more than 12 votes cast for the senatorial race, since only 12 seats are up for grabs. Ballots with 13 or more votes among senatorial bets will be automatically chucked out. Knowing this, the somewhat confident Go advised the crowd to go vote for his 12 stablemates, which would mean that he would he would become the odd man out. "Kahit na unahin niyo lahat yan, yang dose po. Ako, ok lang po sakin kahit panghuli napo ako (You can prioritize all of those, that 12. Me, I'm fine with being the last one)." According to Go, voters would have a hard time forgetting about him on election day anyway, since everyday objects like traffic lights would remind them of him. "Alam niyo kung bakit? Di ba pag nagmamaneho kayo, kapag traffic, ano yung pula? Stop. Ano yung green? Go. Malilimutan niyo ako? Hindi di ba (You know why? Because whenever you drive, and you're at a traffic stop, what does the red light say? Stop. What about the green light? Go. Will you forget me? Of course not)," he said. Go gave another version of his new "leave me behind" speech earlier that day during a campaign sortie in Parañaque City. "Dose lang po ang dapat niyong piliin. Anyway, para sa akin, pwede niyo napong unahin yung dose . Ako naman, mauna na lang po dito sa puso ninyo (You should only pick 12. Anyway, for me, you can prioritize these 12 on the ballot. Me. I'll be the first one in your hearts)." Among the 13 HNP bets, Go is the closest personally to President Rodrigo Duterte, having served as his aide for years. Incidentally, Go is also the second highest-placed HNP candidate in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. He is now ranked third, right next to the second-rank Senator Cynthia Villar who is also being carried by HNP. HNP campaign manager Mayor Duterte is the daughter of President Duterte. Last month, the lady chief executive confirmed there's conscious effort from them to not mention that they are pulling for a total of 13 candidates during public rallies. “That’s why we don’t mention that we are endorsing 13 candidates and you can listen during the rallies, we don’t say that. We only present them onstage and we let the voters choose from the candidates onstage,” she was quoted as saying. However, Mayor Duterte makes sure to introduce her senatorial candidates one by one to the crowd during such events.