VICE President Robredo wrapped up her two-day campaign sortie in the Caraga region on Wednesday night with a grand rally at the Guingona Park in Butuan City, which was attended by at least 10,000 people, mostly the youth.
Just a month into the 90-day campaign period, the opposition presidential bet said she was elated that the people’s reaction to her presidential bid has been “better than expected,” attributing the the large crowds trooping to her campaign rallies to the “spirit of volunteerism.”
“Actually ang nangyayari ngayon (what happened now), more than what we expected,” Robredo told reporters. “Kuntento ba kami sa nakikita namin on the ground? Very much so (Are we contented with what we see on the ground? Very much so).”
In the previous political rallies of the tandem of Robredo and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, the Vice President drew huge crowds of volunteers and supporters: 20,000 in Naga City; 20,000 in Quezon City; 40,000 in Iloilo; 47,000 in Cavite; and 45,000 in Bulacan.
“Yung mga rallies, never namin in-expect na makakamobilize ng ganitong crowd ang mga volunteers, kasi wala tayong masyadong support sa local official in some places, pero even then, ‘yung volunteerism, grabe (The rallies, we never expected that the volunteers can mobilize crowds as big as this because we don’t have so much support from local officials in some places but even then the volunteerism is tremendous),” she said.
While she is happy with the public’s reception to her presidential bid, Robredo admitted she remains cautiously optimistic because she is racing against time with so may provinces left to be visited and so much work left to be done in the grueling 90-day campaign.
The Vice President kicked off her campaign on home town Naga City in Camarines Sur and has so far visited 16 provinces and three Metro Manila cities, sometimes attending as many as nine engagements daily.
Despite the punishing schedule, the 56-year-old Robredo said she is still “ready and raring to go,” stressing that her strength comes from the enthusiasm of “the people on the ground.”
The Vice President told those who attended the Butuan rally to look at her track record, stressing that the Office of the Vice President did not only conduct ceremonial functions. In the past six years, Robredo said she has been working on poverty alleviation programs in different parts of the country and spearheaded pandemic response programs that reached out to those hardest hit by the health crisis.
‘EPAL MOVE’
Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, campaign manager for the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem’s “Tropang Angat” senatorial slate, said the people should ask themselves what Robredo’s biggest rival, former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., did in the past two years as the nation grappled against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Where was he at the height of the pandemic? What did he do for the frontliners? I know what VP Leni did. Hindi nga kasya sa one minute ang ginawa niya para sa ating bansa,” said the former Quezon representative, referring to the Vice President’s enumeration of the work she did during the pandemic at the recent CNN presidential debates.
Tañada, a former deputy speaker, said Marcos’ proposal to declare March 15 “Frontliners Day” is “nothing but an epal move.”
“What the country needs are holistic solutions to health crises, not a holiday declaration,” he said.
Robredo not only led in the distribution of “ayuda” to the most affected communities but gathered volunteers to facilitate the free testing and vaccination of people in underserved areas, she also coordinated with volunteers to offer free rides, free shuttle buses, free accommodation to health workers.
Former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, a Tropang Angat senatorial bet, said Marcos should present, preferably in a public debate with other presidential candidates, a comprehensive health plan that will address the gaps in the country’s public health system.
“Buti pa ang COVID, kahit maliit nade-detect ang presence, ikaw never (It’s easier to detect COVID even if it’s microscopic unlike you who was never (detected),” he told Marcos.
“You never ventured out of your protective cocoon. Leni led. You just lay in bed. “The last thing we need are politicians pandering to us and to the public that their pa-epal move is brilliant. Wala pa kaming naririnig sa kanya kundi ‘unity’ (We haven’t heard anything from him apart from ‘unity’).”
In an online forum hosted by the 1Sambayan Coalition yesterday, Tropang Angat senatorial bet Antonio Trillanes IV said Robredo is most qualified and is ready to effect reforms in the Armed Forces as commander-in-chief with the help of national security experts who are supportive of her.
Robredo “has a clear plan” on issues of national security and sovereignty, said Trillanes, a former senator and retired naval officer who led the 2003 “Oakwood Mutiny.”
Trillanes said former senior officers of the AFP and the National Police who are helping Robredo craft security policies “are sensible and snappy.”
Some of the retired military and police officials who have expressed support for Robredo are Maj. Gen. Generoso Cerbo Jr., Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, former chiefs of staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri and Gen. Eduardo Oban, and Vice Admiral Alexander Pama, former Navy Flag Officer in Command.
“Aside from being a good leader, VP Leni knows how to listen to her people. She is open to hearing the inputs of experts,” said Trillanes. “(She) is ready to come up with a decision in the midst of various issues and contradicting opinions.
