Leni Robredo vows 100-percent support for Digong Duterte

Leading vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo on Tuesday committed her "100-percent support" for presumptive president-elect Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

In a news conference, Robredo reiterated her denial of a Liberal Party plot to have Duterte impeached and have him replaced in Malacañang by her as the constitutional successor.

“I’ve always repeatedly said in the past that the amount of support that I was willing to give Secretary Mar would be the same kind and the same amount of support that I should give whoever wins the presidency,” Robredo said.

“He deserves my 100-percent support and this is good for the country. It will not benefit the Filipinos if I do no give him the support he deserves,” she added.

As of 4:30 p.m. on May 10 and with 92.77 percent of the elections returns already processed by the Commission on Elections transparency server, Robredo had 13,605,015 votes as against Marcos' 13,394,086.

On the supposed Plan B that entailed Duterte's impeachment, Robredo said,"Wala po itong katotohanan."

"Si Secretary Mar mismo ang nagsabi na malinaw si Mayor Duterte and magiging susunod na pangulo ng Pilipinas. Hinihikayat niya tayo na ibigay ang suporta sa kanya,” she said.

Robredo, however, said that her support for Duterte would not cover human rights violations.

“Ibibigay ko yung suporta pero yung suporta ko hindi nage-extend sa mga hindi naayon sa batas. I will stand my ground. Kahit siya ang aking Pangulo, pag mali yung ginagawa, yun ay hindi ko ito-tolerate,” Robredo said.

Duterte had been heavily criticized for his alleged role in extrajudicial killings in Davao City, where he was mayor, because of his supposed links to the Davao Death Squad.

Anti-poverty programs

At the same press briefing, Robredo said she prefers to be given a task on implementing anti-poverty programs of the government if she succeeds in the vice-presidential race.

“Marami kasi akong karanasan sa pagsisilbi sa mahihirap and nakikita ko na marami pang pwede i-improve sa mga sistema ng pagbibigay,” Robredo, a lawyer who had worked for the Public Attorney’s Office, said.

Meanwhile, Robredo said Roxas was in “very high spirits” despite conceding defeat to Duterte.

“Siya yung nag-a-assure sa akin na kung may kailangan ako, tumawag ka lang sa partido, kung may kailangan ka, it’s at your disposal,” she said.

Robredo is still leading the vice-presidential race with a slim margin of at least 190,000 votes based on partial and unofficial election results as of 3:00 p.m. — NB/RSJ, GMA News