‘Lack of good governance has to end’
AFTER months of trying to unite the opposition, Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday finally declared she is running for president in next year’s elections, saying the country must be freed from the state it is in under the Duterte administration.
“Today, I stand with full resolve: We must free ourselves from the current situation. I will fight. We will fight. I offer myself as a candidate for the presidency in the 2022 elections),” she said in Filipino yesterday morning at the Quezon City Reception House where she holds office.
Hours later, the opposition leader filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) as an independent candidate.
Robredo is chairman of the former ruling Liberal Party.
The party’s president, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, was rumored to be Robredo’s running mate but no official confirmation has been made by LP. If Pangilinan’s VP run pushes through, he will face colleagues Senate President Vicente Sotto III, uncle of Pangilinan’s wife Sharon Cuneta, and Sen. Christopher Go.
In the presidential race, Robredo will so far face Senators Panfilo Lacson and Emmanuel Pacquiao, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso.
Presidential aspirants have until today to file their COC.
Robredo filed her COC at around 3:30 p.m. at the Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent in Pasay City, accompanied by daughters Tricia and Aika and lawyer Romulo Macalintal. She did not face the media after the filing but stopped for photo opportunities.
She was wearing a pink ribbon on a blue blouse, instead of the LP’s signature yellow ribbon. Soon after her announcement, hashtag #LabanLeni2022 (FightLeni2022) became the top trending Philippine item on Twitter, while supporters posted photos of themselves on social media wearing pink.
“What is at stake are the lives and the future of the Filipinos … billions upon billions of pesos went into questionable contracts while millions of Filipinos struggle,” said Robredo, taking a swipe at the government over questions on its use of $1.3 billion in pandemic funds.
“The lack of good governance lies at the root of our many problems. This needs to end,” she also said in 15-minute speech streamed live on social media.
Despite limitations and attacks from the administration, Robredo said the Office of the Vice President has been able to do so much to help those in need in terms of housing projects, medical and livelihood assistance, relief efforts for disaster victims, electrification projects, and vaccines, among others.
Robredo, 56, a human rights lawyer and widow of a former interior secretary Jesse Robredo, arrived at the decision to run after failing to form a “broad coalition” of anti-administration groups which she pursued during her talks with Lacson, Pacquiao, and Domagoso.
She said she had to exhaust every means to unite all opposition groups before deciding if she will make a presidential run.
Robredo said she is running as the opposition’s standard-bearer because “the challenge before us is clear: We have all seen the lies and harassment that others are capable of doing to reach their goals.”
“They have the money, machinery, an entire infrastructure that can spread whichever story they choose to spread. But no amount of noise can ever drown out the truth: If the same kind of governance, the same kind of people triumphs in the coming elections, then we cannot expect change to happen,” she said, referring to the administration.
At one point, Robredo said she was open to supporting a Moreno-Pacquiao tandem if that would unite the opposition and ensure the defeat of the administration’s candidate next year, be it presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio who has yet to change her mind in favor of running for president, Go, or Marcos whom she defeated in the 2016 vice presidential race.
Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday night rejected anew calls of her supporters for her to run for president in the 2022, saying she would rather finish her term as mayor before seeking another position. Duterte-Carpio filed her COC last Saturday for Davao city mayor. A faction of the ruling PDP-Laban is eyeing her as standard bearer.
The 1Sambayan coalition of anti-administration that nominated Robredo as presidential candidate, called on Filipinos to unite and stand behind her.
“The fight to regain our country’s democracy and integrity in governance starts now, and it will be an uphill battle. Make no mistake about it, we are up against the vast resources of the Duterte administration. If we remain divided, we will stand to lose more than just the elections: we will lose our country, our democracy and integrity in public service,” it said.
Lacson and Sotto declined to comment on Robredo’s decision.
“We will focus only on presenting ourselves and our competencies to the electorate in an effort to get elected based on our own strengths, and not on the deficiencies of the others…
We intend to keep it that way, even as we encourage our supporters to follow our lead,” Lacson said. — With Raymond Africa, Gerard Naval, Ashzel Hachero, Jocelyn Montemayor and Reuters
