Occidental Mindoro Rep. Sato declares support for Leni-Kiko
Despite the inclement weather, thousands of supporters of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo, including indigenous peoples, farmers, fishermen, women, youth, and representatives from various sectors, welcome her and running mate, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, to “Mindorosas: The Occidental Mindoro People’s Rally” held at the San Jose Municipal Plaza in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Wednesday, April 6. (VP Leni Media Bureau)
CITY OF CALAPAN — Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato publicly declared support for the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo during her campaign sortie Wednesday in the province.
Sato, a Liberal Party member, also declared her support for Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Robredo’s running mate. Sato hosted lunch for Robredo when she met with mayors, vice mayors, and councilors in the province.
Sato said Robredo was “first to have sent PPEs (personal protective equipment), medical support, and others, without fanfare, to Occidental Mindoro, so she is well-loved by the frontliners.”
Robredo and Pangilinan later visited the fisherfolk of F/B Gem-ver, the vessel that sank in 2019 after encountering a Chinese boat in the West Philippine Sea in Barangay San Roque in San Jose town.
Robredo came bearing financial assistance to the fisherfolk.
She twice visited the fishers of F/B Gem-ver, first in Barangay San Roque and then in Ilin Island, where half of them reside, after the incident at sea.
Robredo also met with the clergy from the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose. In the afternoon, she met thousands of volunteers at the people’s rally in San Jose Plaza.
Robredo won the vice presidential race in 2016 with a good margin against former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. She is facing him again in the May elections.
Henry Echivarre Bagatsolon, a volunteer, said in a message to the Inquirer that when the campaign for local candidates started, voters in Occidental Mindoro had been demanding from local politicians to declare their support for the Leni-Kiko tandem.
“The power is in the people on election day, not the politicians. It is us, who will decide for a better future,” Pangilinan told the crowd in San Jose.
In her speech, Robredo requested the crowd to give her party mates the same big number of votes they gave her in 2016.
She promised hands-on attention to the people’s problems, like the “rotating brownouts.”
