Leni Robredo pressured to run for Congress

Lawyer Leni Robredo. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, is considering running for Congress.
Her eldest daughter Aika said in her Twitter account (@aikarobredo) Friday that Robredo would announce her decision later in the day after consulting her three daughters.

Robredo has been pressured to run for a seat in the House of Representatives and represent Camarines Sur under the Liberal Party, the same party of her late husband, according to television reports. She is being urged to compete with the wife of Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte Sr., who will be running for governor after his third term as congressman.

There has been a lot of talk of the administration party asking Robredo to run for the 2013 midterm elections but Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said that the widow of the former Department of Interior and Local Government chief showed interest in politics.

Both Belmonte and Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada said they had no information on Robredo’s move. “I have not received information on that. I know she wants to be a judge,” Tanada said.

Robredo has recently been assigned as chief of the LP in Camarines Sur.