Robredo on uphill presidential bid: Nothing is impossible

PADRE GARCIA, Batangas — Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo on Thursday said to voters here that nothing is impossible, including winning the presidency, as she recalled how the province carried her to victory in 2016.

Robredo made the call given as she expressed gratitude to this southern Tagalog province where she dominated her rivals in the 2016 race with 514,608 votes, way ahead of then-Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. with 261,499 and then-Senator Francis Escudero with 233,406.

The rest of the vice presidential bets at the time — then Senators Alan Cayetano, Gringo Honasan and Antonio Trillanes IV — garnered votes 110,448 and below.

"Huwag tayong mapagod, huwag tayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Nanalo tayo noong 2016, at malaking dahilan roon ang Batangas," Robredo said.

(Let us not get tired or lose hope. We won the elections in 2016, and that is largely because of Batangas.)

"Hindi imposibleng magawa ulit natin ulit 'yun," Robredo, who is trailing frontrunner Marcos Jr. by double digits in pre-election polls, added.

(Doing it again this time is not impossible.)

Robredo recalled that when she first visited this place in 2016 when she was running for vice president, she only had a 2% rating and nobody thought she could make it.

Robredo, however, said the tables eventually turned towards victory because she got her message across: an honest and competent public service that she is offering again today with her as the captain of the ship.

"When I started my bid in 2016, I as only at 2%. Pero dahil sa pagdesisyon na magpapagod, ipapakilala ang sarili, ipapalapit ang programa, unti-unti umakyat yung ating rating. Hanggang sa panahon ng eleksyon, nanalo tayo. At yung Batangas ang isa sa pinakamalaking dahilan kung bakit tayo nanalo," she said.

(But because we decided to gut it out, present ourselves to the people, and offer development programs we could accomplish, our rating increased. Until Election Day came and we won.)

Robredo won the 2016 vice presidential race by a razor-thin margin of 263,473 votes.

Salceda endorsement

As this developed, Robredo also thanked Albay lawmaker and House Ways and Means panel chairperson Joey Salceda for endorsing her presidential bid.

"I am honored, Cong Joey. We did not talk ahead of this [press conference], and when I was informed, I really had to check again to be sure it wasn't fake news because endorsement is not something you do lightly," Robredo said in Bicolano in a joint press conference with Salceda late  Wednesday night.

"Magkaiba ang partido namin, pero noong kinausap niya ako, sinabi niya ginagawa ko ito para sa ikabubuti ng bansa natin, kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa very big endorsement, this will be a very big boost sa ating campaign. I hope this will open the floodgates [of individuals from other political affiliations to support us]," Robredo added.

(We come from different political parties but when he (Salceda) talked to me, he said he is doing the endorsement for the betterment of our country. That is why I am really grateful for this very big endorsement, and a big boost to our campaign.) — RSJ, GMA News