Leni mulls more solo sorties

Liberal Party Vice Presidential bet and Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Amid concerns that her own campaign is being overshadowed by her running mate Mar Roxas, vice-presidential candidate Leni Robredo would maximize the days when she goes solo in sorties to lure more voters to her side, according to her campaign manager Sen. Bam Aquino.

Aquino said it was important for Roxas and Robredo to campaign together to show their unity, but he pointed out that there had been times when she had to stump for votes alone to cover more ground.

“So we just have to maximize the days when she is on her own, and of course the focus will be on her,” Aquino told reporters in an ambush interview.

But he also said that when Robredo and Roxas are together, they help each other out. They would also use this time productively, he said.

Earlier, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said Robredo should be given time to step away from Roxas’ shadow to develop her own message and boost her ratings.

Osmeña, who is helping in Robredo’s campaign, said she had not been standing out because she had to play a supporting role to Roxas.

Robredo has been lagging in voter popularity surveys, behind Senators Francis Escudero and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Aquino said both Robredo and Roxas were playing catch up to their rivals, and would need to talk to more people.

When it comes to Robredo, what she has to do is to share her stories and plans for the country to convince more people to vote for her. It’s easy to get people to her side once they hear her speak, he said.