Vice President Leni Robredo/Photo by NOY MORCOSO, INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has asked her supporters to pray for her as she plots her next political move, thanking opposition coalition group 1Sambayan for nominating her as their presidential candidate for the 2022 elections.
Robredo hinted on Thursday that it would be challenging for her to decide if she would run for president in 2022, as a lot of responsibility falls on the sitting president. In light of this, she is seeking prayer in the next few days to make an informed choice.
“Mabigat ang hinihiling sa isang pangulo. Maraming responsibilidad at obligasyon ang dala nito— buhay at kinabukasan ng Pilipino ang nakataya. Ang desisyon sa pagtakbo, hindi pwedeng nakabase sa ambisyon, o sa pag-udyok ng iba. Sa loob ito dapat manggaling, dala ng pagharap sa lahat ng konsiderasyon at malalim na pagsuri sa situwasyon,” Robredo said.
“Mulat tayo sa tungkulin natin, bilang pinuno at Pilipino, at taimtim na pagninilay at pagdarasal ang ginagawa natin. Sa mga susunod na araw, samahan ninyo akong magdasal pa, that our decision will be what is best for our country,” she added.
READ: 1Sambayan picks Robredo as presidential candidate for 2022 polls
Nevertheless, Robredo said that it was a great honor to be chosen by 1Sambayan.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa nominasyon na ito ng 1Sambayan. Malaking karangalan ang tiwalang ipinagkaloob sa akin ng mga miyembro ng grupong ito. Nagpapasalamat rin ako sa mga kababayan natin na these past weeks and months, have shown their overwhelming support sa atin,” she noted.
Since she admitted that she is torn between running for president, seeking a local elective post, or retiring from politics, Robredo has been asked for a long time about what she plans to do next.
The Marcoses are her primary concern, she said in the past, as is ending a regime similar to President Rodrigo Duterte’s.
But earlier, 1Sambayan lead convener and former senior associate justice Antonio Carpio said the possibility of Robredo declining the nomination was remote when asked what the group would do if that happened.
“Well, as I said, we will reconvene and discuss that because that’s a new development, and we have not really looked into that because personally, I think it’s a very remote possibility that VP Leni will decline,” Carpio said. According to Carpio, they are expecting Robredo to respond soon to their nomination. He also revealed that the Vice President is currently on a trip to Bicol, although he did not specify why.