Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, during one of the hybrid plenary sessions. Screen grab/Senate PRIB file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday expressed hopes that Vice President Leni Robredo runs for the country’s top post in 2022 to “unite all the non-Duterte candidates” in the upcoming elections.
“We should only have one candidate. We cross our fingers that VP Robredo will decide to run for president and we believe she is the strongest and, hopefully, she can unite all the non-Duterte candidates,” Drilon, vice chairman of the Liberal Party, said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.
Robredo serves as the chairman of the Liberal Party.
While the party has yet to make a final decision on its plans for 2022, Drilon said that all of its members will support Robredo should she decide to join the presidential race.
“Let me make it very clear. All the Liberal Party members would rally behind VP Robredo should she run for the presidency which is a personal decision. If she does not run for the presidency, then the LP will have to meet and see where we will go from there,” the senator said.
“We have not discussed anything. What we have decided on, we are in full support of VP Leni,” he added.
Robredo was among six of 1Sambayan’s presidential and vice presidential nominees who the coalition named over the weekend.
The Vice President, however, has yet to make final her plans for the 2022 polls but said she remains “open” to run for president.