Vice President Leni Robredo, accompanied by her daughters Aika and Tricia Robredo, personally filed on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, her certificate of candidacy for president in the 2022 national elections. Outside the venue for COC filing at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, supporters wearing blue and pink ribbons welcomed Robredo. Earlier today, VP Leni officially declared her intention to run for the presidency before her staff and supporters at the Quezon City Reception House. (Photo by OVP)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Three days after she declared her presidential bid for the 2022 elections, Vice President Leni Robredo admitted to still 鈥渂eing in shock鈥� by the outpouring of support, both online and offline, for her plans.
鈥淚 really did not expect the overwhelming reaction,鈥� she said on her weekly radio show. 鈥淚 thought that, once I announced, only my longtime supporters would be happy. But we saw something completely different: So many signed up to be volunteers, so many donated money.鈥�
鈥淚t was like an affirmation that we made the right decision,鈥� the Vice President said. 鈥淲hen I saw how the people reacted, I got emotional.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to penetrate social media where there is a lot of propaganda and fake news,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o my request to my supporters is to not be content with shaking up those within their circles but to expand our ranks.鈥�
On Thursday, Robredo officially threw her hat in the 2022 presidential race, ending months of speculations about her plans and pitting her once again against the late dictator鈥檚 son, former Sen. Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr., whom she defeated in 2016 for the vice presidency.
Robredo admitted that while she worked hard behind the scenes to forge the broadest coalition to ensure the opposition鈥檚 victory, 鈥渢he results weren鈥檛 good 鈥� [It鈥檚] hard to unite when you don鈥檛 align with your beliefs, or you don鈥檛 believe in trudging along the same path.鈥�
For months, Robredo kept both supporters and political rivals guessing about her plans.
It was only after the opposition coalition 1Sambayan nominated her as presidential bet that she started seriously thinking about running for president.
When she finally accepted the nomination, social media was suddenly awash with pink鈥攈er new campaign color鈥攚hich supporters saw as a sign of hope amid the deadly pandemic and the crippled economy. INQ