FILE Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo by JUNJIE MENDOZA, Inquirer Visayas )
MANILA, Philippines — More and more representatives of various sectors have been asking Vice President Leni Robredo to seriously consider running for president in the 2022 national elections.
According to Team Leni Robredo, there would be several groups that will conduct virtual launches of their official campaign on Friday, in an attempt to persuade the Vice President to make a presidential bid.
One of the groups, dubbed Lawyers for Leni, said that it is important for someone like Robredo — also a lawyer by profession — to be elected as president considering that the rule of law has heavily deteriorated under President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.
They expressed belief that the rule of law would be restored if Robredo is elected president.
“As lawyers, we have seen how respect for the rule of law has deteriorated in the past five years. A lot of times, the law was used to serve personal interests of a few instead of being an instrument to bring social justice,” lawyer Ram Ramos, who is spokesperson of Lawyers for Leni, said in a statement.
“As of today, we have almost 300 signatures from lawyers who support Leni Robredo,” said Ramos.
Lawyers for Leni said that different legal luminaries will be delivering messages of support during the program, which would be streamed live on Facebook on Friday, 11:00 a.m.
The list includes former Supreme Court spokesperson and Free Legal Assistance Group member Theodore Te, Far Eastern University law school Dean Mel Sta. Maria and lawyer Ampy Sta. Maria.
Aside from Lawyers for Leni, other groups like the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni, the LGBTQIA+ for Leni, and the Leni for You movement would also start their respective campaigns in support of Robredo’s possible presidential bid.
The Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni would start their program at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, and it would be streamed at www.facebook.com/LahatParaKayLeni.
LGBTQIA+ for Leni would start by 1:00 p.m. (https://www.facebook.com/LGBTQIAforLeni/), while the Leni for You movement starts at 6:00 p.m. (https://www.facebook.com/LeniForYou/), also on Friday.
This is not the first time that groups openly declared their support for Robredo. On Wednesday, Team Leni Robredo also said that multi-sectoral and cause-oriented groups in Bulacan formed the Bulacan for Leni, to ask the Vice President to run so that the current administration’s alleged reign of abuse and inefficiency would come to an end.
Just last August 19, a similar movement was launched in Quezon province, dubbed Quezon for Leni, which also urges the Vice President to join the presidential race. Then on Saturday, Robredo was again asked by teachers to run in 2022.
As of now, Robredo has not yet confirmed whether she will indeed run for president, as she is not yet done talking with parties that may make a bid in 2022.
Robredo recently met with Senators Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, and Manny Pacquiao to discuss the possibility of a united opposition coalition, but no solid plans have been made public.
But in the past, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has maintained that Robredo is still open to pursuing the presidency even if she has thought of — and was rumored to be — running for Camarines Sur’s gubernatorial post.