Flood of support shocks Robredo

Vice President Leni Robredo, accompanied by her daughters Aika and Tricia Robredo, personally filed on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, her certificate of candidacy for president in the 2022 national elections. Outside the venue for COC filing at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, supporters wearing blue and pink ribbons welcomed Robredo. Earlier today, VP Leni officially declared her intention to run for the presidency before her staff and supporters at the Quezon City Reception House. (Photo by OVP)

MANILA, Philippines — Three days after she declared her presidential bid for the 2022 elections, Vice President Leni Robredo admitted to still “being in shock” by the outpouring of support, both online and offline, for her plans.

“I really did not expect the overwhelming reaction,” she said on her weekly radio show. “I thought that, once I announced, only my longtime supporters would be happy. But we saw something completely different: So many signed up to be volunteers, so many donated money.”

“It was like an affirmation that we made the right decision,” the Vice President said. “When I saw how the people reacted, I got emotional.”

“It’s really hard to penetrate social media where there is a lot of propaganda and fake news,” she said. “So my request to my supporters is to not be content with shaking up those within their circles but to expand our ranks.”

On Thursday, Robredo officially threw her hat in the 2022 presidential race, ending months of speculations about her plans and pitting her once again against the late dictator’s son, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., whom she defeated in 2016 for the vice presidency.

Robredo admitted that while she worked hard behind the scenes to forge the broadest coalition to ensure the opposition’s victory, “the results weren’t good … [It’s] hard to unite when you don’t align with your beliefs, or you don’t believe in trudging along the same path.”

For months, Robredo kept both supporters and political rivals guessing about her plans.

It was only after the opposition coalition 1Sambayan nominated her as presidential bet that she started seriously thinking about running for president.

When she finally accepted the nomination, social media was suddenly awash with pink—her new campaign color—which supporters saw as a sign of hope amid the deadly pandemic and the crippled economy. INQ