A fisherfolk organisation held a fluvial parade as they threw their support behind Philippine vice president Leni Robredo who is running for president in the country's national elections.

Video shows fishing boats of the National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines (Pamalakaya) adorned with pink flags and banners as they paddled across Laguna de Bay just southeast of the capital Manila on April 5.

The procession was held just before an election rally for Robredo in nearby Rizal province.

A Pamalakaya spokesman said: 'Our member fisherfolks in Laguna de Bay are holding a Pink Fluvial Parade hours ahead of the 'Rizal is Pink' grand rally for Leni-Kiko in Antipolo City today. On board our fishing boats groomed with pink ribbons and banners, we rove around the fluvial site carrying our calls on socio-economic and sectoral concerns.

'We show our support to the candidacies of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan based on common political platforms including the fishing sector’s specific demand to uphold the national sovereignty and protect the Filipino fishers in the West Philippine Sea.'

Robredo is vying for the presidency of the Philippines, and has chosen the colour pink to brand her campaign. She is competing against nine other candidates, including controversial election poll frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Human rights monitor Amnesty International said at least 3,240 were killed, 34,000 were tortured, and 70,000 were jailed during Marcos's brutal 14-year reign under martial law. His family is believed to have amassed a staggering 5 to 10 billion USD as they plundered the national coffers and plunged the Philippines into debt. The Philippine Commission on Good Governance was established to recover the Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth after they fled the country in 1986.

A probe by news agency AFP said that ‘false and misleading claims have flooded Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter in the lead-up to the May 9 polls, pounding Filipinos with a relentless barrage of propaganda on platforms’ in support of Ferdinand Marcos Junior, who uses the nickname ‘Bongbong’.

The Philippines will be holding its national elections on May 9 this year.