ADVERTISEMENT
Filtered By: Topstories
News

Leni Robredo joins Kiko, Bam on campaign trail

By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA Integrated News

Kiko Pangilinan, Bam Aquino: Fight is not yet over

Former Vice President Leni Robredo helped Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Bam Aquino kick off their Senate comeback bid on Tuesday, in hopes of building on the support that Robredo’s volunteer-led presidential run got three years ago.  

At the duo's campaign event in Dasmariñas, Cavite, Robredo exhorted the Filipino people not to give in to disappointment and blame.

“Hindi naman natapos ang laban noong 2022. At hindi rin doon natapos ang ating tungkulin bilang mga Pilipino. Hindi tayo pwedeng tumigil," she said.

(The fight did not end in 2022. And our duty as Filipinos also did not end there. We cannot stop.)

She said that Pangilinan and Aquino were again putting themselves forward, but not for selfish reasons.

"Hindi para sa sariling at sariling interes, hindi para magpakasasa sa kapangyarihan, hindi para linlangin ang taong bayan. Tumitindig silang muli bilang kampiyon ng bawat Pilipino na nangangarap na mas magandang buhay, mas maraming oportunidad at mas maliwanag na bukas," she said.

(Not for their own personal interests, not to enjoy power, and not to deceive the Filipino people. They are standing up again as champions of each Filipino who dreams of a better life, more opportunity, and a brighter tomorrow.)

 

 

 

Robredo also hailed lone opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros and said the next step is to provide her with allies to expand the ranks of public officials who serve with integrity. 

“Ang susunod na atas para sa atin lahat, bigyan natin si Senator Risa ng mga kaalyado at katuwang, ng mga kapwa niya matitino at mahuhusay, na titindig kasama niya sa lahat na laban,” she said. 

Second quarter

Pangilinan, meanwhile, likened going back into the fray to a tough basketball match.

“Kung baga sa basketball, second quarter na tayo. Medyo tinambakan tayo ng first quarter. So, babawi tayo ng second quarter, hanggang sa dulo na maipapanalo na natin. So this is a continuation of what we started: gobyernong tapat,” Pangilinan told reporters.

(In basketball terms, we're in the second quarter. We were blown out in the first quarter. So we will make up for it in the second quarter until we win in the end. So this is a continuation of what we started: honest government.)

 

 

Pangilinan, who served as Robredo’s running mate in the 2022 polls, started Day 1 of the campaign period hearing mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in the University of the Philippines' Diliman campus in Quezon City.

“Kasi kung titignan natin ang mga headline ngayon, kung titignan natin yung mga issue, e ganun pa rin ang problema: corruption, pang-aabuso sa pwesto, mga illegal na gawain...talagang hindi na nga makapag-hello sa pagkain. Dati, pag kumain ka ng baboy, ikaw ay magkaka-high blood. Ngayon, ‘yung presyo lang ng baboy, maha-high blood ka na kapag nakita mo. Iyon ang ating ipinaglaban noong 2022: tungkol sa murang pagkain, gobyernong tapat. Hanggang ngayon, talagang hindi pa tapos,” he added.

(If we look at the headlines now, the problems are the same: corruption, abuse of power, illegal acts...you can't even say hello to the issue of food. Before, if you ate pork, you would get high blood pressure. Now, you can get high blood pressure from the seeing the price of pork alone. That is what we were fighting for in 2022: affordable food and honest government. To this day, the fight is still not over.)

'Kumakatok sa winners' circle'

Robredo admitted that there is a need to convince more voters that Pangilinan and Aquino have solid qualifications and are worthy to be in the Senate.

“Kung qualifications lang ang basehan, dapat sure win na ang ating mga pambato. Pero alam natin na hindi madali ang kinakaharap nating laban ngayon.

"Bumabangga sila sa malalaking pangalan, sa mas malaking makinarya. Pero ang good news, may laban tayo. Sina Senator Bam and Senator Kiko, kumakatok sa winner's circle. Malapit na!” she said.

(If qualifications were the only basis, our bets would be a sure win. But we know that we are not facing an easy fight.

They are going up against big names, with powerful electoral machineries. But the good news is, we have a fighting chance. Senator Bam and Senator Kiko are knocking on the winner's circle. It's close!)

“At sa tulong natin lahat, naniniwala ako na makikilala pa sila ng mas marami pa nating mga kababayan,” she added.

(And with our help, I believe that more and more of our compatriots will get to know them better.)

Good governance

Pangilinan said that Robredo has committed to join him and Aquino on the campaign trail before the campaign period for local bets starts next month. Robredo is running for mayor of Naga City.

“She will be with us in the proclamation rally, and that is her commitment because she still has time to help us before the mayoral race starts,” Pangilinan said.

 

 

Aquino, for his part, agreed that the voters still thirst for good governance that will address the lack of jobs and government aid.

“Iyong kakulangan sa trabaho, iyong ayuda na hindi binigay ng patas...pag-umiikot kami, ‘yan ‘yung binabanggit ng mga tao. So palagay ko yung impeachment [ni Vice President Sara Duterte], mahalaga siya sa mga partido, mahalaga siya sa mga pulitiko, pero pag sa taong bayan, ang hinahanap pa rin nila, trabaho para sa kanila, ‘yung mga issue na mahalaga sa kanilang pamilya, at mahalaga sa kanilang pang-araw-araw [na buhay],” Aquino added.

(The lack of jobs, the assistance that is not handed out equally...when we go around, that is what people are telling us. So I think the impeachment [of Vice President Sara Duterte] is important to the parties and the politicians, but for the Filipino people, what they are still looking for are jobs and the issues that are important to their families and their everyday lives.)

Akbayan party-list first nominee and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, on the other hand, called on the voters to back Akbayan and their allied Senate bets Pangilinan and Aquino to ensure that the concerns of ordinary Filipinos, such as high prices of basic commodities, education, and quality healthcare, are addressed.

“Ang problema na sobrang pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin, ang problema natin sa education crisis, access sa healthcare, ito yung mga bagay na kailangan tugunan ng buong pamahalaan. Nais namin talagang ipaabot sa buong sambayanan na may lalaban na tulad ni Senator Risa sa Senado, may lalaban din sa Kongreso para sa mga ordinaryong Pilipino,” Diokno, who was also present during the mass, added.

(The problem with the excessive rise in the prices of goods, the education crisis, and access to healthcare: these are the things that the whole government must focus on. We wish to communicate to the nation that there will be people who will fight for the ordinary Filipino in Congress, just like Senator Risa Hontiveros is doing in the Senate.)

Pangilinan served as a senator from 2001 to 2013, and again from 2016 to 2022. He ranked in the Top 12 in the pre-election polls for the 2022 Senate race but gave up his reelection bid to run for Vice President under Robredo’s ticket. Robredo and Pangilinan lost to the "Uniteam" tandem of now-President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Duterte.

Aquino served as senator from 2013 to 2019 and lost his reelection bid in 2019.

Diokno ran for the Senate in the 2019 and 2022 polls. — BM/NB, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.

Tags: Eleksyon2025, philippine election, Philippine election 2025, Eleksyon 2025, Philippine elections 2025
Most Popular