Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Philippine presidential hopeful Leni Robredo flocked to Pampanga province on April 9, in an impressive show of force for the politician in her rivals' territory exactly a month before the country holds its national elections.

The Robinsons Star Mills field in San Fernando City was painted in pink as some 220,000 people - Robredo's largest crowd yet in her campaign trail across the Philippines - arrived to attend the grand people's rally, local police said.

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 ticket to reach the venue.

The jubilant sortie turned emotional in the evening when a group of farmers made a surprise appearance onstage to endorse Robredo and her running mate Senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan, who hails from Pampanga himself. In a powerful moment, they raised the tandem's hands and declared: 'Even if we are just simple people, simple farmers, we will help Senator Kiko and ma'am Leni win!'

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.