LP on poll surveys: Underdog status not new for Leni

Vice President (VP) Leni Robredo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

An underdog? Vice President (VP) Leni Robredo has been through it before.

The opposition Liberal Party (LP) is not discouraged by polling that suggests its chair and prospective standard-bearer would be trailing her likely opponents if the elections were held today, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said on Friday.

The LP president noted that Robredo’s numbers before she sought the vice presidency in 2016 were even lower than in recent surveys.

“It has happened before; being an underdog is nothing new for VP Leni,” he said.

“Remember that the last time she actually went all-out on the campaign trail, she rose from 1 percent to victory,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

“I have absolutely no doubt that when she does declare her candidacy, once the people learn about her character, she will become an even stronger center of gravity for those who believe in strong, competent, compassionate, courageous leadership,” he said of Robredo.

Asked by the Inquirer when would be the ideal time for the Vice President to declare her intentions, Pangilinan said he trusted Robredo’s “instincts and timing.”

“While conventional wisdom echoed by various groups suggests that a decision to run for President has to be made and announced early on, this assertion is not supported by the evidence of the 2016 and 2010 elections,” he said in a Viber message.

In his statement, the LP leader said Robredo’s predecessor in the party, the late former President Benigno Aquino III, “would tell VP Leni that she is on the right track. Continue helping people. Focus on being there for our people.”

“P-Noy (Aquino) and VP Leni hold the same ideals and principles. There is no doubt in our minds that if P-Noy were still around, his support for VP Leni would be unequivocal,” he said.