TAGAYTAY CITY, Philippines — Strong rains or the sweltering heat may have daunted some candidates to cancel their campaign sorties, but Vice President Leni Robredo marveled at how the weather always seemed to favor their campaign sorties, which remained well-attended.
Speaking to another mammoth crowd, this time the attendees of her slate in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Robredo exclaimed that the her supporters, collectively called Kakampinks, may have the weather godsson their side, noting that even light drizzles stop almost every time she was about to speak onstage, just as it did in the people’s rally in the province.
“Akala ko mapapahiya ako ngayong gabi. Alam niyo, ‘pag meron kaming grand rally na umuulan, lagi nilang sinasabi ‘pag ako raw magsasalita na, humihinto ang ulan,” Robredo told the crowd, which burgeoned to 225,000 according to local organizers as the night wore on.
(Good evening Laguna, I thought I would be embarrassed tonight here. You know, whenever we hold grand rallies and when it rains, people say that the rains stop whenever I go onstage to deliver my speech.)
“Pero kanina, bumuhos ‘yong ulan bago ako magsalita. Kaya sabi ko po sa likod, dito yata ako sa Laguna mapapahiya. Pero ‘pag labas ko dito, huminto nga ‘yong ulan. Talagang napaka-lakas ng kakampi natin,” she added.
(A while ago, it was raining hard just before I spoke. That’s why I told the people backstage, I think the streak ends here. But when I got out, the rains indeed stopped. Our ally above is really very strong.)
An estimated 225,000 supporters packed the Nuvali Open Field in Santa Rosa City, Laguna to cheer on presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Senator Kiko Pangilinan at “Tanglaw: Laguna People’s Rally” on Friday, April 29. (VP Leni Media Bureau)
Robredo supporter and San Pedro City Councilor Bernadette Olivares said that even she was amazed that rains stopped a day before the rally, which allowed the venue to dry up for a bit — making it less muddy.
“Kahapon po sobrang lakas ng ulan, hindi ho namin inexpect na titigil ngayong umaga dahil kung hindi, putik na putik po ang ating venue. Ngayon ko lang napatunayan, Ma’am pati si Lord kakampink natin,” Olivares added.
(Yesterday rains were even stronger, we did not expect that it would stop this morning. If it didn’t, then our venue would have been very muddy. That’s why I was able to prove, Ma’am, even the Lord is an ally.)
It has been a running joke within Robredo’s campaign team that Robredo seemed to have a calming effect on the weather, such as the sortie in Rizal province last April 5.
Presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo now takes the stage just as the rain stopped. There's an inside joke among those who follow her sorties that rains always stop just before she addresses the crowd. pic.twitter.com/sPG9bkbTMr
— Krixia Subingsubing (@krixiasINQ) April 5, 2022
Robredo is running for president in the 2022 national elections and while she has drawn huge support — with recent grand rallies attracting thousands and thousands of participants — latest surveys depict her as the number two candidate.
The Vice President still stands behind former senator Bongbong Marcos in the latest Pulse Asia poll, where Robredo got 24 percent of votes while Marcos had 56 percent. This, despite Marcos losing four percentage-points and Robredo gaining nine percentage points.
Still, Robredo’s supporters say the fight is not over, pointing to the recent surveys where her numbers increased dramatically, and data of search entry shares in Google Trends.
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