Vice President Leni Robredo. Image from her Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Former Vice President Leni Robredo appears to be aiming for the Naga City mayoral post in the 2025 midterm polls, Liberal Party (LP) president and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said on Thursday.
During an interview with reporters at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Lagman was asked about the possibility that Robredo would get nominated for the vacant Department of Education (DepEd) post.
The vacancy comes, after incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte resigned.
According to Lagman, the last time they talked, Robredo said she would continue the program of her late husband, former Naga Mayor and former Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.
“The last time we talked, she said she will run as Mayor of Naga City, to continue the programs of her late husband,” Lagman said in Filipino.
“She will support the national campaign for the senatorial slate of the Liberal Party and those aligned with the Liberal Party,” he noted.
Nevertheless, according to Lagman, it is Robredo’s call if she will accept any nomination for the vacant DepEd post.
“That’s the call of Leni. We do not have control over it,” he said.
“We do not expect that it will be offered to her by the President. But if it is offered, we will study that intently, as it is an opportunity for our presidential candidate to continue serving the country,” Lagman pointed out.
On Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced that Duterte resigned from her post.
Specifically, Duterte resigned as a member of the Marcos cabinet, Education secretary, and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
Duterte eventually held a press briefing at the DepEd office to confirm her move.
READ: Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary, says Palace
After Duterte’s resignation, several social media users urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to pick Robredo — his opponent in the 2022 presidential race — as a replacement for Duterte, given the former vice president’s wide experience in the academe.