The Truth Caravan: Jun Lozada Visits Iloilo & Bacolod

Today's Philippine Star has deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez saying that Jun Lozada's Truth Caravan to Iloilo and Bacolod was a "flop". Golez claimed that the "Iloilo City tour of Lozada was the only one highlighted in the media and not the Bacolod City rally because of the poor attendance" and "more or less 300 people attended the Bacolod leg of Lozada’s tour". We must note that Anthony Golez was never spotted by those of us that traveled with Jun Lozada in either city, nor did he attend any of the forums conducted.

For the record, Jun Lozada met and spoke to over 1500 students and teachers from various Iloilo schools on the morning of March 14th. The schools represented were the University of San Agustin, UP Iloilo, and De Paul College. Not a shabby attendance record, considering it was exam week.

After a simple lunch at De Paul with school officials and religious, and a bumpy ferry ride to Bacolod, Jun was warmly welcomed by La Salle Bacolod. While there, he engaged at least 1300 faculty members and students from both La Salle and St. Scholastica. Some of the students were accompanied by their parents.

After that, Jun had a forum with 500 students at La Consolacion College, and just a stone's throw away, attended a special mass that was celebrated by Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra together with 15 priests at the San Sebastian Cathedral as the sun set. The cathedral was full to the rafters, parishioners overflowed into the courtyard. Observers conservatively estimated the crowd at over 2000.

Jun Lozada was accompanied on this first stop of the Truth Caravan outside Metro Manila by Sr. Mary John Mananzan, Sr. Estrella Castelone, his close in Senate security, both ABS-CBN and GMA7 news crews, and members of the Black & White Movement. We would like to thank everyone that made this Truth Caravan leg a success.