Leni overwhelmed by 'non-traditional' support in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo said she is overwhelmed by the “non-traditional” support of Cebuanos for her bid for the presidency, stressing the crucial part Cebu plays in the elections being one the country’s vote-rich provinces.

She said it is different this time around because, unlike in the past, supporters on the ground are now the ones initiating activities.

“It’s different in the sense na, before, it was much more conventional. Meaning to say, because we were the candidates, we were the ones in charge of organizing, printing materials, scheduling events… now it’s baliktad. Now, it’s baliktad because even before we came over, a lot of many different initiatives were already being done by our supporters on the ground, so kahit iba siya in the sense na we’re not in the admin anymore, we don’t have the machinery, pero the passion of the volunteers more than make up for what we don’t have now,” Robredo said.

Robredo; her running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan; and senatorial candidates Chel Diokno, Teddy Baguilat, and Alex Lacson representing re-electionist senator Leila de Lima arrived in Cebu on Friday, November 12, to meet supporters and open the Leni-Kiko headquarters in Cebu City.

The kind of reception she received in Cebu this time is reportedly far different from the welcome she received in 2016 when she ran for vice president.

“Sobrang overwhelming. Sobrang overwhelming nung support. From the time we got out of the plane this morning, hindi ko pa naranasan ito from before. Iyong reception na natanggap ko ngayon, sobrang layo from the one in 2016. So, grabeng… overwhelmed kami nang grabe,” said Robredo during a press conference after the blessing of the Leni-Kiko headquarters in Cebu City.

She also participated in a dialogue with sectoral groups during the unveiling of the “Kusina Inato” program at the Archbishop’s Palace and turned over sustainable livelihood and training funds for three communities in Cebu, the Selma Crushers, Nice J., and Bantay Banay Volunteers.

Cebu vote

Robredo stressed the importance of the Cebuano voters – up to 3.2 million of them as of September 2021.

“Very, very important. Cebu is one of the biggest provinces. Siguro, were it not for the fact that Cebu gave me a huge majority in the 2016 elections, hindi siguro ako nanalo… but having said that, I’m not entitled to anything. I still have to work hard para makuha ko ulit the trust and the support given to me in 2016,” Robredo said.

She mentioned the projects her office has undertaken in Cebu, including in San Remigio, Tuburan, Tabuelan, Bago, San Francisco, Carcar, Consolacion, Naga, and Dalaguete.

“Marami kaming ginagawa lalo na noong nag-pandemic. Kasi, when the pandemic happened, we did Bayanihan Sugbuanon in Cebu. Nag-shuttle services kami for frontliners, dorms for frontliners. We had a ferry service from Mactan to Olango. We did locally-produced PPE sets with communities. Relief goods. Nag-download din kami ng pera sa ibang mga ospital dito for medical assistance. So tuloy-tuloy naman,” she said. JMO (FREEMAN)