Robredo optimistic about chances in Cebu; says crowd response is unprecedented

The “Ceboom: Cebu People’s Rally 2.0” for presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her slate mustered a 150,000-strong crowd at the Ouano Avenue, Reclamation area in Mandaue City. (VP Leni Media Bureau)

MANDAUE CITY — Despite the odds seemingly stacked against her, Vice President Leni Robredo is optimistic that she can pull off a repeat win in Cebu province for the 2022 elections, just like in 2016 during the vice presidential race.

In an ambush interview on Thursday after the rally at Bogo City, Robredo was asked if she is still confident about her chances given that incumbent Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and her party One Cebu have endorsed her rival, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who is also running for president.

Robredo said that the high energy and support that she has been getting from grassroots movements is actually unprecedented, as she did not have much of this when she won in 2016.

“Ako, very optimistic ako. In the first place, ‘yung volunteerism na nakikita ko sa Cebu ngayon, wala ito noong 2016. ‘Yung mga local officials naman na tumulong sa atin in 2016, kasama pa din natin ngayon. Sina Vice Governor Junjun (Davide), ‘yung grupo niya kasama pa din natin,” she told reporters.

(For me, I am very optimistic.  In the first place, the volunteerism that I see in Cebu right now, this was not present in 2016.  The local officials who helped secure the win in 2016 are still with us, like Vice Governor Junjun, his group is still there.)

“Ako, unprecedented ‘yung passion na pinapakita ng mga volunteers and nakakagulat kasi even in places as far away as Bantayan, very active ‘yung ga volunteer groups,” she added.

(I think the passion shown by volunteers is unprecedented, and it is shocking because even in far areas such as Bantayan Island, the volunteer groups are very active.)

Robredo won by a big margin in Cebu last 2016 when she ran against Marcos for the vice presidency. However, at that time, she enjoyed the backing of the administration, a stark difference in the upcoming elections where she is running as the de facto leader of the opposition.

But according to Robredo, the fact that groups supportive of her have been launching their own programs to convince more people to join their ranks is also something that was not present in 2016.

“Pareho din ito noong pagpunta namin noong February 24 sa south. Halimbawa, as far away as Argao, very active ‘yung volunteer groups. Hindi ko ito nakita noong 2016. So, ngayon mas optimistic ako actually,” she added.

(It’s the same with our visit to southern Cebu last February 24.  For example, as far away as Argao, volunteer groups are very active.  I did not see this in 2016.  So, I am more optimistic now.)

Robredo earlier toured Bantayan Island, Bogo and its nearby towns, before moving down to Danao City for another rally.  Her last stop was at Mandaue, where 150,000 supporters showed up to express support for her and her running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan.

The Vice President in her interview and speech thanked supporters who flocked to the venue of the Ceboom 2.0 grand rally in Mandaue, especially amid reports that transport services used to ferry Robredo’s supporters are being blocked again — similar to what allegedly happened in Bacolod and Pangasinan.

“Very unfortunate na nangyayari ‘yung ganitong mga sitwasyon kasi as always ‘yung hinihingi natin pag respeto sa iba-ibang mga pananaw. Kahit iba-iba ‘yung mga sinusuportahan na kandidato kailangan ‘yung respetong ina-accord sa isa ‘yun din ‘yung ibibigay mo sa iba, lalo na kapag local government unit ka,” she said.

(It is very unfortunate that such events happen because we always sought for respect even if there are differences in our views.  Even if we support different candidates, we should be respectful of other people, show respect accorded to other camps especially if you are from the local government unit.)

“Hindi ito first time na nangyari. Marami ng mga pagkakataon na hininto ‘yung mga sasakyan, nagsara ng mga kalye, iba iba ‘yung mga panggigipit na nangyayari pero pinakita ng mga volunteers natin na sila ‘yung naghahanap ng paraan to go beyond ‘yung mga limitasyon na binibigay sa atin. Ito siguro ‘yung sukat kung gaano kadesidido,” she added.

(This is not the first time that this has happened: there have been incidents in the past where vehicles were stopped.  There were road closures, there were harassment incidents but we have seen that our volunteers find ways to go beyond the limitations thrown at us.  Maybe this is a measurement of how decided they are.)

Robredo won in Cebu and the whole Central Visayas during the 2016 vice presidential race where she and Marcos faced off.  The incumbent Vice President got 1.111 million votes across the region, and 807,922 from Cebu province alone.

Marcos meanwhile got only 393,146 votes in Central Visayas, and 307,676 in Cebu province.

However, recent surveys have shown that Robredo remains a far second to Marcos.  Pulse Asia’s poll for March revealed that while Marcos lost four percentage points, his voter preference score is still 56 percent — 32 points ahead of Robredo who managed to increase her score from 15 percent to 24 percent.

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