Vice President Leni Robredo speaking before Meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila. Screengrab from Facebook / OVP
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday said her senatorial slate for the 2022 national elections is already complete, with representatives from different sectors joining the “broad coalition.”
Robredo made the announcement on Thursday, but declined to reveal the lineup at this time. However, she said that only three candidates from Liberal Party joined.
“We have already finalized our slate, I have not been authorized to reveal it first, but after we announce our senatorial slate you will see, our slate is composed of representatives from many different parties,” she said during the Rotary Club of Manila’s virtual membership meeting.
“At most I think we will only have three from the Liberal Party,” she added.
According to Robredo, it is a testament to her goal of uniting the opposition and her decision to run for president as an independent candidate despite her being the chairperson of LP.
“I am still honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, but running as an independent was our symbolic way of showing this openness,” she said.
“The 2022 elections is not just about me or our party, or between the personalities. It’s really the collective power of the people,” she further said.
So far since she filed her certificate of candidacy for president last week, five candidates under her slate have been named — incumbent Senators Risa Hontiveros and Leila de Lima, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno.
Of the five, only de Lima and Baguilat are members of LP, while the rest are guest candidates from parties aligned with the LP.
On Wednesday, long-time activist and former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares confirmed that he is in discussions with Robredo about joining her slate. Other sources said that labor leader Sonny Matula is included in the talks.
LP president and Senator Francis Pangilinan gave up his slot after he was asked by Robredo to be her running mate, while former senator Bam Aquino, who earlier signified his plans to run again for Senator, had been asked to be Robredo’s campaign manager.
Earlier, Robredo said that while an agreement between personalities or presidential candidates may already be impossible, she is not yet giving up on possibly creating the broadest coalition possible with the people.
Robredo said that the goal of unifying the opposition has not changed, although it may no longer involve other candidates for the presidency.
Prior to these statements, Robredo was urged to strike a deal with other supposed opposition stalwarts like Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and Senators Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson. However, the Vice President herself said that the talks fell because they had differences in key issues.
Several personalities including former Liberal Party member and Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice, have fears that a lack of unity between the Vice President and Moreno might give way to a Marcos presidency in 2022.