Workers wore pink T-shirts as they waited at the Bishop’s House in Iligan City for the arrival of their presidential bet, Vice President Leni Robredo, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Robredo paid a courtesy call to Bishop Jose Ramirez Rapadas III of the Diocese of Iligan before holding a political rally at the Iligan City Plaza. (Photo by RICHEL V. UMEL / Inquirer Mindanao)
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — Supporters of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo, many of them young voters, on Tuesday feted her with a rockstar welcome on her maiden foray into Mindanao since the official campaign period started two weeks ago.
Mindanao, home to nearly one-fourth of the 65.7 million registered voters in the May 9 general elections, is perceived to be a stronghold of her staunch political rival, presidential bet Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Robredo was visibly ecstatic as she addressed the crowd of about 3,000 “kakampinks,” the self-ascribed label of her supporters, many of whom trooped to Rizal Park here as early as 6 a.m. bringing with them various pink-colored tarps, balloons, and other campaign materials.
“Even if nobody transported you here, you are all here. What does that mean? You’re here this morning because you understand that the elections are very important,” Robredo said.
“Why are there so many young people here? It’s because you know that we’re fighting for your future,” she said, eliciting applause from the audience.
Fatima Faisal, a resident of Marawi City, said she went to Iligan City with her cousins and neighbors not just to show her support for Robredo, but to personally thank her for helping their family own a new house.
Faisal said they were among the thousands of residents who were displaced after members of the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group attacked and occupied Marawi in 2017.
“For me, [Robredo] is a symbol of hope for us Mindanaoans. She was there with us even before she decided to run for president,” the 24-year-old first-time voter told the Inquirer.
“I’m sure that she can do more if she becomes the next president,” Faisal added. “[Robredo] is also an inspiration for young women like me. Women can also be good leaders.”
Former Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz, the Vice President’s campaign manager in the city, credited Robredo for bringing together the three major groups of people in Mindanao — the “lumad,” Muslims, and Christians — to attain a common goal.
“Unlike other candidates, she has the capability and the integrity. Unlike other candidates, her record as a public official is very clean,” Cruz said in the local language.
Speaking with reporters after the event, Robredo said she was hoping to regain the support she got from Mindanao voters in 2016, when she narrowly beat the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the vice presidential race.
She was also banking on the positive impact of the projects that the Office of the Vice President had implemented in Mindanao, including the distribution of needed medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a deviation from the general guideline of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on partisanship, the archbishop of Cagayan de Oro endorsed the presidential bid of Robredo on Tuesday.
“We are one with you. We are supporting you,” Archbishop Jose Cabantan said in a dialogue between Robredo and religious and interfaith leaders of the city on Tuesday afternoon.
Robredo barnstormed Iligan, Gingoog and Cagayan de Oro cities on Tuesday, painting these places pink.
In Gingoog and Cagayan de Oro, she was accompanied by outgoing city mayor Oscar Moreno who was among the first local executives to endorse her presidential bid.
Although her sortie in Cagayan de Oro was delayed by two hours, thousands of people still waited to greet her in the streets, many of them youngsters.
—WITH REPORTS FROM MARLON RAMOS AND RYAN D. ROSAURO
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