Leni Robredo announces presidential bid

MANILA, Philippines, October 7 ------ Vice President Leni Robredo’s lengthy process of discernment is over and she has come to a decision: She is running for president in the 2022 elections, which she believes is crucial to ending President Rodrigo Duterte’s brand of leadership. Robredo made the announcement Thursday, just two days after her rival former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, said he is running for president in next year’s polls.

This would mark the third time that Robredo would face Marcos in a political contest. The first time they faced off was during the 2016 vice presidential race, where Robredo emerged as the victor. Robredo won over Marcos again in the subsequent electoral protest lodged by the dictator’s son, which was unanimously junked by the Supreme Court. The vice president has said that Marcos making a bid for Malacañang would be one of the reasons that would push her to run for president, along with being picked as the standard bearer of a united opposition.

1Sambayan has endorsed Robredo for president ahead of her announcement, which left some members of the opposition coalition concerned that this would shut the door on unity talks with other non-administration players in the political arena. Prior to announcing her presidential bid, Robredo had been busy with negotiations among other non-administration politicians, including presidential aspirants Sens. Ping Lacson and Manny Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, to forge unity and come up with a single ticket that would contest Duterte’s anointed bets for the 2022 polls. She was also involved in her office’s much-praised programs in response to the pandemic, but she still performs poorly in pre-election surveys, with the latest Pulse Asia poll showing that only 8% of Filipinos would vote for her for president.

In previous interviews, Robredo said she is unfazed by her low numbers, pointing out that she started the same when she vied for the vice presidency.

Source: philstar.com