Momentum building for Robredo’s campaign

MANILA, Philippines — With less than two months before the elections, Vice President Leni Robredo is banking on the groundswell of volunteers and supporters to help her win the presidency.

Just hours after addressing thousands of supporters in Bacolod City on Friday night, Robredo was already in Cagayan to start a day of campaigning in the known bailiwick of rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

During her first stop in Tuguegarao City, the Vice President expressed gratitude to those who had the courage to campaign for her despite the north’s known ties with her main rival.

In one speech, Robredo admitted getting nervous ahead of her visit, saying she was wondering if people would go out to meet her following the huge turnout in Negros Occidental the day before.

The response from her supporters was clear. There is no “Solid North,” they said, a reference to the supposed voting bloc of the northern provinces for the Marcoses.

And while enthusiasm is clear among Robredo’s supporters, the Vice President herself recognized the challenge ahead in convincing voters in her rival’s bailiwick to back her presidential bid.

In the 2016 vice presidential race, Robredo lost by a large margin in most provinces in Northern Luzon.

Only a handful of local politicians have publicly endorsed her bid, most notably Mayor Tin Antonio of Alcala, Cagayan, where a campaign sortie was held.

In her introduction of the Vice President, Antonio recalled how Robredo helped the province during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.

Tuguegarao City councilor Marj Martin-Chan noted how Robredo responded to pleas for help in the middle of the night and immediately provided assistance for those affected by the typhoon, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Alcala, the Vice President traveled to Isabela, where a rally was held in Echague.

In an earlier interview, she expressed her excitement to meet with supporters in the two provinces, noting how they braved the jeers and threats that they received for supporting her.

Echague, in particular, was where supporters had to deal with local officials who trespassed their campaign headquarters to take materials that supposedly violated campaign rules.

The Supreme Court has since issued a temporary restraining order against the Commission on Elections’ Oplan Baklas or the removal of campaign materials funded by volunteers and posted on private property.

For Robredo, the number of people speaking out to support her is an indication of a growing momentum that can lead her to victory.

In her speech in Bacolod City, where organizers estimated a record breaking 70,000 in attendance, the Vice President rallied her supporters to further strengthen what she consistently describes as a “people’s campaign.”

“I know that you feel what I feel: Our momentum and energy is growing stronger. More and more people are joining our ranks,” she said in Filipino.

“Let us continue raising our voices so that more people can see that it is possible to campaign like this. That this kind of government is possible: Honest, the people at the center, with real unity,” she added.