NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – Realizing that in order to win in the general elections, presumptive Republican presidential nominee is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to all possible voting blocs, including the Filipino Americans.

Filipino Americans have traditionally been socially conservative. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections, Republican president George W. Bush won the Filipino American vote over John Kerry by nearly a two-to-one ratio,  which followed strong support in the 2000 election. However, in 2008, Filipino Americans voted majority Democratic, with 50% to 58% of the community voting for President Barack Obama and 42% to 46% voting for Senator John McCain. The 2008 election marked the first time that a majority of Filipino Americans voted for a Democrat presidential candidate.

Naturally, Trump wants to win back the Filipino American vote.

Today, he posted a selfie taken at the penthouse suite of the Trump Towers in New York.  In his photo, he is shown gobbling down a bowl of dinuguan, a traditional Filipino dish made of pork and pork blood. In his comment, he said, “I love dinuguan. I love Filipinos, and Filipinos love me!”

When asked by his wife Melania what he was eating, Trump said, “chocolate soup.”

NAGA CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo arrived in her hometown after a 12-hour grueling bus ride, ABS-CBN reports.

Immediately after her homecoming, the Liberal Party bet met with local officials from Naga, who reported alleged incidents of vote-buying not just in their province.

Robredo said votes are allegedly bought for as low as P500.

She expressed dismay that some politicians resort to dishonest means to win their positions. Although she did not name names, many believe that she was referring to her own presidential running mate, Mar Roxas.

It will be recalled that senatorial aspirant Greco Belgica on Tuesday filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to investigate the alleged vote-buying of the Liberal Party (LP) for its standard-bearer Mar Roxas.

In his petition, Belgica attached a copy of the video “proving that indeed such vote-buying scheme spearheaded by the Liberal Party to assuage the votes in favor of their standard-bearer, Mar Roxas.”

The viral video shows the alleged distribution of envelopes supposedly containing money during a campaign sortie of the Liberal Party last April 16.

The Adobo Chronicles commends Robredo for being independent-minded and unwilling to condone any form of dishonesty, including those committed by Roxas.