CEBU, Philippines – Much like in other parts of the country, March 28 was an eventful day in Cebu: allies of former president Rodrigo Duterte held prayer rallies and “solidarity” events, while candidates of Marcos-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas joined local campaign kickoffs here.

The start of the campaign period for local candidates on Friday coincided with the 80th birthday of Duterte, who is detained at The Hague, Netherlands, for alleged crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs.

Many of Duterte’s supporters held celebrations and prayer gatherings to wish the ex-president a pleasant birthday. Some well-known politicians seeking government posts also joined in, organizing their own events to honor the Duterte patriarch.

Cebu City mayoral aspirant Mike Rama, vice president for the Visayas of the Duterte-led Partido ng Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), held what he called a “ceremonial classical solemn pledge of support with mañanita” for Duterte in the late hours of Thursday, March 27, at the Rama Compound in Cebu City.

A “birthday” rally was also held on Thursday in Danao City, Cebu, where Duterte’s father, Vicente Duterte, was mayor from 1945 to 1946. 

Cebu gubernatorial candidate and PDP-Laban bet Pam Baricuatro spoke to Duterte supporters, who held a solidarity walk from Plaza Independencia to Fuente Osmena Boulevard in Cebu City on Friday.

“Today will be spent entirely for [President Rodrigo Duterte’s] birthday celebration,” Baricuatro said in a social media post.

As this was happening, Baricuatro’s rival, reelectionist Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, went to the southern towns of Cebu, where she and other political allies brought with them and endorsed senatorial aspirants from the Alyansa slate.

The start of Garcia’s campaign for her One Cebu party — where she is the standard-bearer — saw her vouching for Alyansa senatorial candidates Benhur Abalos, Bong Revilla, Manny Pacquiao, and Francis Tolentino in at least 16 towns in the province.

In a speech, Garcia clarified to supporters that while she supported Marcos, she still maintained respect for Duterte.

“Na-wala ba akong respeto ni Presidente Duterte? Wala! Nadungog ba ninyo maskig usa lang ka pulong pagdaot kaniya? Wala! Kay ako kamao nga mutan-aw og utang-kabubut-on,” Garcia said.

(Have I lost respect for President Duterte? No! Have you heard me speak ill of him? No! Because I can acknowledge my indebtedness to people.)

It’s worth noting that the Alyansa slate has not yet held a proclamation rally in Cebu despite it being on top of the list of most vote-rich provinces in the Visayas. 

Data from the Commission on Elections for this year’s polls showed that there are at least 2,172,170 registered voters in the province of Cebu — this excludes voters in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu. Cebu City has around 721,469 voters, while Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City have 236,853 and 277,288 voters, respectively.

So far, the administration-backed slate has already held proclamation rallies in Laoag City, Iloilo City, Pasay City, Dumaguete City, Victorias City, San Jose del Monte City, Municipality of Pili, Tacloban City, and Cavite. 

While Abalos, Revilla, Pacquiao, and Tolentino were in Cebu, their fellow Alyansa candidate, Camille Villar, joined the kickoff rally of Team Uswag, led by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand on Friday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s sister, Imee Marcos, who recently left Alyansa, was also present during the Iloilo rally. – Rappler.com

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's losing streak continued on Wednesday.

Hours after Republicans in Wisconsin lost a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin where Musk spent tens of millions of dollars of his own money, shares of his flagship electric car company fell upon news that it had badly missed Wall Street estimates for the number of vehicles it had delivered in the first quarter of 2025.

As reported by Market Watch, Tesla revealed that "it delivered more than 336,000 vehicles during the first quarter, down from 387,000 deliveries a year ago."

To put this number into context, Market Watch notes that it "was well below the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of 404,000 vehicles" and it "was also lower than the 'whisper' number, or what Wall Street was quietly expecting, with even the most bullish analyst projecting a number in the 360,000 range."

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Although Tesla blamed the disappointing deliveries on what Market Watch describes as "the changeover to refreshed Model Y production lines" that "led to several weeks of lost production," it's also a reality that the company has been the target of a concerted boycott campaign led by progressive groups to protest Musk's role as the head of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.

Sales of Tesla in Europe have fallen off a cliff in recent months, as car buyers on that continent have revolted against Musk's support for far-right political parties such as Germany's Alternative für Deutschland.