This is the moment Philippine presidential hopeful Leni Robredo addressed the crowd of 220,000 people who attended her election rally in Pampanga province on April 9.

The sea of pink-clad volunteers and supporters cheered for the politician as she delivered her speech at the jampacked Robinsons Star Mills field in San Fernando City on Saturday.

She said: 'Perhaps if you were paid, maybe you would have gone home by now, but you endure your exhaustion, heat and hunger because you are thirsty for good governance.

'Why do you make these kinds of sacrifices? Because of your great love for your country. You understand that this election is not just choosing the kind of candidate you like, but the kind of future you will have for the next six years.'

The rally is Robredo's largest yet in her campaign trail across the Philippines, with some 220,000 supporters attending according to local police.

They arrived as early as 9 am, standing for hours under the harsh sun for a chance to see the opposition candidate in person. Local celebrities also lent their star power, entertaining the crowd as they waited for Robredo and her slate to reach the venue.

Less than a week earlier, former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose family has a deeply entrenched and influential political dynasty in Pampanga province, had thrown her support behind Robredo's rivals, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and vice-presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte.

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.