Leni tells Naga townmates of uphill battle on eve of campaign’s end

Vice President Leni Robredo capped her provincial campaign on Friday with a grand rally in Naga City in Camarines Sur, thanking her townmates for their support and asking them to remain steadfast amid the uphill battle come election day on May 9.

Robredo, running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan and their senatorial slate gathered a big crowd for the event, which like their past rallies had artists, local officials, sector representatives, and featured volunteer performers showcasing local culture.

Speaking in Bikol language, Robredo said she is up against a wall fortified by big politicians, money and machinery.

“We are up against a wall, a wall braced by big politicians,” she said.

“Despite this, I feel optimistic that no matter how strong the political backing is, how big the machinery is, the strength of our united volunteers will triumph,” she added.

Hometown

Robredo spoke to her townmates na Bikol language throughout her speech and turned more personal as she recalled how she started working on the sidelines to help her late husband Jessie Robredo who was then town mayor.

"Iibahin ko ang mensahe ko dahil dito ako lumaki. ...This is a message of gratitude for being by our side since my husband became mayor," she said.

"When Jessie was mayor, you don't see me. I worked on the sidelines, I took care of our three children.  We are an ordinary family, the only difference is my husband is a politician," she added.

As a lawyer, Robredo said she also worked quietly joining the Public Attorneys' Office and then later on the lawyers' group Saligan.

But things changed when her husband, then the Interior and Local Government Secretary, died in a place crash.  Robredo said she found herself running for public office first as district representative and then as vice president.

In both political battles, she said she went up against well-entrenched political names and started at the bottom of the surveys.

"We proved here that no matter how powerful the machinery is, the united stand of the people believing in you will rule in the end.  I have the backing of the good name of my husband, that's why the people trusted me," she said.

Sorsogon

Earlier in the day, Robredo and her team also held a grand rally in Sorsogon, which she called her second hometown as her father hailed from Bulan town.

She recalled being in the province a number of times to oversee the projects under her office for farmers and fisherfolk, including the distribution of fishing boats and construction of toilets in coastal communities. She said her office also helped make available a maritime track  for students who will pursue a maritime course in the province.

At the onset of COVID-19, Robredo said the Office of the Vice President also provided PP sets and medical supplies to the frontliners

"Nagpapasalamat po ako na kahit mahirap ang laban na ito, andiyan kayo sa tabi ko, kasama ko kayo sa laban," she said.

"Pero ang akin pong panalangin: Sana boboto kayo sa akin hindi lang dahil Bikolana ako. Pero sana boboto kayo sa akin dahil pakiramdam ninyo, ako ang makakabuti dito sa inyo sa Sorsogon. Sana iboboto ninyo ako dahil naniniwala kayong ako ang pinakamabuting kandidatong nagpresenta ng sarili sa inyo," Robredo said.—LDF, GMA News