This is the moment a street vendor handed out free ice lollies at a street party for Philippine presidential hopeful Leni Robredo.

The vendor Nilo was seen giving away the frozen treats to supporters who attended the concert-rally in Quezon City, Manila, on April 24. He was wearing pink armsleeves and flip-flops that signified his support for the female politician.

Robredo's campaign has drawn comparisons to the Philippine people's movement of 1986 that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. A groundswell of volunteerism has buoyed her sorties, with A-list musicians and pop stars performing pro bono at her election rallies, and common folk shelling out money from their own pockets to organise house-to-house visits and print out election materials.

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.