BASCO, Batanes — It is a gesture that will forever be remembered by local residents of this northernmost and smallest province of the country.

Upon landing at the Basco airport, Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, together with running mate Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, were met by scores of Ivatans, as residents of Batanes are known, who flashed the L (Laban) sign, with smiles on their faces.

Ivatans have reason to rejoice because for the first time during the campaign period, a presidential candidate made it a point to visit the province despite a hectic schedule and even if it was only for a few hours.

“These are the people who practically represent the majority of the household here,” a local resident told reporters covering the sortie.

Batanes is the smallest province of the Philippines, both in terms of population and land area with only about 10,000 registered voters.

A 20-minute motorcade led the LP team to the Cory Aquino grandstand where they formally proclaimed the candidacies of Dina Abad, wife of former education secretary and now LP campaign manager Florencio “Butch” Abad, and gubernatorial bet Vicente Gato.

The visit was made more memorable since it coincided with the first and last visit of his late mother former President Corazon Aquino on April 24, 1989.

Aquino remembered that when her mother visited Batanes it was at a time when people were complaining about their problem to transport their commodities, especially garlic, due to the destruction of the wharf by previous typhoons. “I recall walking inside the Arlegui building one day and found sacks of garlic practically littered at the ground floor. I just learned that my mom brought everything from the farmers of Batanes out of pity,” Aquino said to the applause of the mammoth crowd who attended the rally.

In his speech, Aquino cited the potentials of Batanes as a major tourist destination if only appropriate government support on infrastructure could be infused.

However, Aquino’s team had to wrap up the visit early due to the island’s windy and rainy climate. For her party, Dina Abad said both Aquino and Roxas are expected to register a wallop victory in Batanes.

“The last survey here was a 79-80 percent headway for both Aquino and Roxas,” Abad said in her speech.