Updated @ 2:18 a.m., April 19, 2022
MANILA, Philippines — Some officials of the Ikaw Muna (IM) Pilipinas endorsed on Tuesday the presidential candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo.
The officials, led by their convenor, former Metro Manila Development Authority head Tim Orbos, announced the endorsement at a media conference.
Orbos said they had been calling for unity among other presidential candidates to oppose the candidacy of survey frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., but only Robredo and labor leader Leody de Guzman responded favorably.
“From our call for unity, we now shift to a call for unity for Vice President Leni Robredo in her campaign to be our president this 2022,” said Orbos.
“Except for the camps of Leody de Guzman and Vice President Robredo herself, all other candidates have rejected the call of unification,” he added.
“The Vice President is consistently the second place in the past months and has been on a steady rise with the biggest increase as shown in the latest survey… She is now in the best position to win this for us,” Orbos further said.
Before Orbos’ announcement, the Visayas and Zamboanga chapters of IM Pilipinas also announced a shift of support from Moreno to Robredo.
However, Philip Piccio, who replaced Elmer Argano as secretary-general of IM Pilipinas, clarified that IM Pilipinas is “intact” and that most members of the group still support Moreno’s presidential bid. Argano was among the officials of the group that defected to support Robredo.
“We are maintaining what we have started ever since the day that Yorme Isko has decided to file his candidacy for president. We are still going strong as our members continue to grow in all regions of the country,” Piccio said in a press briefing.
He also said that they will remain “solid and firm” in pushing for the “pro-people programs” of the Manila Mayor.
Before this, the Visayas and Zamboanga chapters of IM Pilipinas also announced a shift of support from Moreno to Robredo.
Moreno’s campaign manager Lito Banayo, however, said they were unfazed by the change of decision by the IM Pilipinas Visayas chapter.