Ong claim on pol endorsements needs context

I do not know any politicians, so I was not in their sample ballots. The command votes from the mayors would account for say 30, 40 percent. That's millions of votes. I did not have all of that. I had no endorsements from politicians, and we only spent P581,000.

— Willie Ong, ANC Talkback, May 20, 2019

Senate hopeful Willie Ong’s claim that he ran for office with “no endorsements from politicians” needs context.

Ong was among the 15 candidates included in the initial Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial slate by presidential daughter and Davao City mayor Sara Duterte in November, but not in the final lineup of 13 in February.

Ong got 7.6 million votes and conceded defeat a day after the elections.

References

Amazona, W. M. (2018, November 7). Hugpong ng Pagbabago forges alliance with Leyte's Romualdezes. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from https://nine.cnnphilippines.com/regional/2018/11/07/hugpong-ng-pagbabago-alliance-romualdez.html

'I could have won': Doc Willie Ong reflects on failed Senate bid. (2019, May 20). ABS-CBN. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/20/19/i-could-have-won-doc-willie-ong-reflects-on-failed-senate-bid

Meniano, S. (2018, November 7). Hugpong ng Pagbabago picks 15 senatorial bets for 2019. PNA. Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1053189

Quismorio, E. (2019, February 20). Hugpong launches campaign with 13 candidates vying for 12 positions. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/02/12/hugpong-launches-campaign-with-13-candidates-vying-for-12-positions/

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