BURNHAM PARK turned pink on Monday, May 2, 2022, as Baguio residents gathered to await and support Vice President Leni Robredo鈥檚 presidential bid. Robredo visted the Cordillera provinces of Kalinga and Abra this day. PHOTO BY KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
Officials from Baguio City鈥檚 鈥淏ig Three鈥� universities鈥擴niversity of Baguio, St. Louis University, and University of the Cordilleras鈥攐n Monday endorsed Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan in historic defiance of the so-called Solid North vote and Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr.
Stressing that the upcoming election was 鈥渢he fight of our collective lives,鈥� St. Louis University president Fr. Gilbert Sales; University of the Cordilleras鈥� board chair Ray Dean Salvosa, and University of Baguio former president Virgilio Bautista formally endorsed the Leni-Kiko tandem during Monday鈥檚 Takder Kordi rally at the Melvin Jones Grandstand in the heart of Baguio City.
With their endorsement, the three Baguio universities join the long list of educational institutions that have thrown their support behind the opposition tandem, widely seen as the 鈥渂est chance鈥� to thwart the Marcoses鈥� comeback to Malaca帽ang.
Their endorsement is especially remarkable as they are widely seen as leaders in the Cordilleran region, known to be a solid Marcos country.
For the three officials, Robredo and Pangilinan also represent a brand of governance that is 鈥淕od-fearing, honest and with genuine love for the country and for Filipinos,鈥� Sales said.
Salvosa noted that this was the first time in history that these universities 鈥渁re shedding their neutrality and openly coming out for Robredo and her team.鈥�
鈥淭his is a moral crisis, this is a battle for the soul of our nation,鈥� Salvosa said in a stirring speech. 鈥淵ou have seen in the polls that (her chief rival Ferdinand) Marcos Jr. is leading鈥his happened in part because of the failure of our education system, we did not see the power of social media.鈥�
He urged fellow Kakampinks to 鈥済o out of your circles and convince others who have been deceived by fake news.鈥�
Bautista, meanwhile, told the crowd of what their generation had gone through during the Marcoses鈥� 21-year rule, 14 of which were spent under the shadow of martial rule. Several human rights organizations estimate that around 3,257 were killed, while 35,000 were tortured and 70,000 were arrested during the brutal regime.
鈥淵ou won鈥檛 understand what we had suffered through because you now enjoy the gains of our hard-fought freedoms,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen we were young, we were repeatedly told: It鈥檚 bad to lie, it鈥檚 bad to steal. Why would we allow them to (take power?)鈥�
鈥淪ince you have already gone out of your way to be here, let us continue pushing onward,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the only way we can help Leni not for her, but for our nation and our future,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the fight of our lives.鈥�
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