CEBU, Philippines — Former vice president Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo is coming back to Cebu more than a year after losing her presidential bid to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. as commencement speaker of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
The state university announced that Robredo will grace UP- Cebu’s 84th Commencement Exercises on June 21, 2023 at the campus grounds.
Edsel Suhayon Codoy, Summa Cum Laude of Batch 2022-2023, told The Freeman that among the various UP constituent units, the former vice president only accepted invitation from UP Cebu.
“I am actually excited to see and hear Atty. Leni as our commencement speaker this Friday. I am
actually a fan of her public service,” Codoy said.
As a UP Alumna herself, Robredo earned her degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics at UP
Diliman in 1986. Recently, she was named the Most Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA). She is set to receive the recognition on August 19 at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman.
UP-Cebu was a known backer of Robredo in the last presidential campaign. In fact, students and alumni of UP Cebu organized a unity walk for Robredo in 2022 called “UPink Fight”. — (FREEMAN)