Under the scorching heat of the sun on Tuesday, April 8, Kiko Pangilinan and his campaign team gathered in Plaridel, Bulacan, for a motorcade as they prepared to barnstorm through the vote-rich province.

Pangilinan, seeking a Senate comeback, hopped into a pickup truck as he wooed Bulakenyos for their votes. He waved to the crowd, many of whom asked where his wife, megastar Sharon Cuneta, was. With a smile, he graciously replied, “She’s in my heart.”

Sharon was a prominent presence in Pangilinan’s 2022 campaign sorties when he ran for vice president. Wherever he went, fans of the megastar would eagerly ask if his wife would be joining his usually packed rallies later in the afternoon. Despite drawing large crowds, Pangilinan and former vice president Leni Robredo ultimately lost to the then-formidable alliance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.

But during the mini-campaign rally in Bulacan on April 8, Sharon couldn’t join because she was sick. Pangilinan, who had been waiting for his wife to arrive, had to change his plans for the day. He had initially planned to head straight to Pampanga, Bulacan’s neighboring province, to prepare for his next sortie the following day. Instead, he said he would return to Manila after Tuesday’s event to be with his wife.

But beyond his popular wife, who’s been a staple on Philippine TV for decades, Pangilinan is also banking on a platform he hopes will carry him back to the Senate. With his “Hello, Pagkain!” campaign, he’s betting that his message will resonate with Filipino voters.

Food security

On the sidelines of his busy sortie in Bulacan, Rappler caught up with Pangilinan to talk about his platform and address the issues being raised against him as he attempts a Senate comeback.

Pangilinan said that achieving food security requires government investment in making the lives of farmers and fishermen sustainable — which means giving them the support they need.

“If we want to be a progressive, modern nation, we have to address food security. And if we want to secure our food, we have to secure our food producers who have been, by and large, neglected. The support for our farmers and fisherfolk is severely lacking,” he said.

Should he get elected, Pangilinan said that he would lobby for an increase in the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to help farmers.

“Taiwan is spending about $12 billion a year on agriculture and fisheries. We’re spending about $3 billion. Their population is 25 million. Ours is 117 million. So there you can see where our priorities are. Clearly misplaced. Thailand is spending double what we’re spending and their population is only 70 million. Vietnam is spending times three,” Pangilinan said.

The former senator offered unsolicited advice to the President on lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo, suggesting that instead of just making promises, Marcos should aim to quadruple the agriculture budget during his term and invest in farmer support, post-harvest facilities, credit access, and market linkages to boost productivity.

“This has actually been laid down since 1997 in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act. And clearly, we’ve missed the point. And that’s why for me, and I’ve been advocating this for the last 15 years, we were able to increase budgetary support for agriculture during my second term in the Senate by as much as 50%. But that should have been 50% every year to be able to address securing our food and bringing down food prices,” Pangilinan said.

Libreng Almusal

If elected, Pangilinan said he would push to centralize school feeding programs and provide students with free breakfast to help them start the day well.

“Malaki ang problema at ang datos ay nagsasabi, marami ang nagdada-drop out dahil sa gutom, dahil hindi makapag-aral nang maayos. Marami ang hindi natututo dahil hindi conducive to learning kapag ikaw eh kumakalam ang sikmura,” Pangilinan said. (READ: Philippine economy growing, but 1 in 4 young children still stunted)

(The problem is big, and the data shows that many are dropping out because of hunger, because they can’t study properly. Many are not learning because a growling stomach is not conducive to learning.)

Pangilinan said that the government should streamline its feeding program to ensure continuity and to guarantee that proper nutrients are given to students.

“It’s a Libreng Almusal program. Merong iba’t ibang programa, feeding program, ang ating mga ahensiya. Kaso hindi siya streamlined. Meron ang Department of Education, meron ang Department of Social Welfare and Development. May mga local government unit, minsan meron, minsan wala. So kinakailangan magsanib-puwersa, ayusin itong sistema, pondohan ng gobyerno para mapakain nang maayos sa pamamagitan ng libreng almusal na batas, ang ating mga anak,” he explained.

(There are various feeding programs run by different agencies but they’re not streamlined. The Department of Education has one, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has another, and there are also local government units which sometimes have them and sometimes don’t. So there’s a need to join forces, fix the system, and fund it properly so that, through a free breakfast law, our children can be fed properly.)

To align with his platform of supporting food producers, Pangilinan proposed that 50% of the food or ingredients for the program be sourced from local farmers, ensuring a steady income for them.

“So it also adds income for our farmers, knowing they already have a market. Even while they’re still planting, they know someone will buy their produce. With a system like that, farmers and fisherfolk will be more encouraged to invest, put in capital, and plant, because they’re assured there will be buyers,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.

Uphill battle

Pangilinan’s Senate comeback won’t be a walk in the park, as he remains outside the winning circle in the recent Pulse Asia survey, ranking between 14th and 18th despite an upward trend in his numbers. Meanwhile, his tandem, former senator Bam Aquino, has entered the list of “probable winners,” placing between 12th and 18th.

When Pangilinan campaigned in Bulacan, Aquino was not with him, as he was holding his own campaign in another province. According to insiders from the Kiko-Bam campaign team, their strategy is to campaign separately to reach more voters and make it easier to connect with them individually. A video message from Aquino was played at the Malolos amphitheater instead.

In recent weeks, rumors circulated that Pangilinan was being courted by the Marcos-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, following the withdrawal of President Marcos’ sister, Imee Marcos, from the slate. The idea wasn’t far-fetched, as Pangilinan had previously expressed willingness to set aside politics to work with Marcos in lowering food prices. However, both camps quickly denied the talks.

“There’s nothing to talk about. I mean, they denied it first and and we confirmed. There were no talks so I guess that’s that, we will continue to run our independent campaign,” Pangilinan told Rappler.

Political observers believe that while there may be no official announcement of Pangilinan’s inclusion, support could be happening quietly at the local or grassroots level. After all, some “pink” supporters are known to be territorial — especially amid conspiracy theories suggesting that the once-prominent opposition is now aligning with the Marcoses.

Had Pangilinan chosen to run for reelection in 2022, he could have secured a fresh six-year Senate term lasting until 2028. When asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “No regrets. I have stories to tell my grandchildren, and that’s what matters most to me. At a time when someone needed to stand up and fight, I’d like to think it was an honor and a privilege to help lead that fight.”

While he’s still polling outside the “probable winners” list, Pangilinan said that they will work double time a month before the elections to make sure they will cover their bases to get enough votes.

“In the end, this is really the people’s decision, not mine. I can only do so much. I will do my best and I will leave the rest to the people to decide. We will move heaven and earth to be able to win this. But in the end, you know, there are certain things that are not in your hands so you leave that to the people. I am willing to do what needs to be done but there are certain lines [I won’t] cross,” he said. – Rappler.com