Leni Robredo on allies' win: 2022 support base remains intact

Former Vice President and Naga City mayor-elect Leni Robredo credited Tuesday the unwavering hope of her base, the Pink Movement that supported her 2022 presidential bid, for the Senate comeback victories of former senators Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV and Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan.

"Tingin ko maraming factors na nag-contribute to their strong showing sa Senate. Unang-una, yung base. 'Yung base na sinimulan noong 2022 presidential elections is alive and well. Talagang gumalaw sila," Robredo told GMA Integrated News' Saleema Refran following her proclamation as Naga City mayor.

(A lot of factors contributed to their strong showing in the Senate race. Firstly, the base that was started in the 2022 presidential elections is alive and well. They really took action.)

Robredo was responding to the surprise strong showing of Aquino and Pangilinan in the Senate race, based on over 97% of election returns for the 2025 midterm polls.

Aquino and Pangilinan have ranked second and fifth, respectively, although they were not contenders for the Top 12 in the pre-election surveys.

"Gusto kong sabihin na kahit ganu'n 'yung results noong 2022, 'yung pag-asa, nasa puso pa din noong base. Handang-handa pa rin lumaban at tumulong. And 'yung wish natin na sana in the coming years, ganu'n pa din. Malaking bagay din na patuloy na lumalaban," Robredo said.

(Despite the results in 2022, hope was still in the hearts of the base. They are ready to fight and help. Our wish is that they will continue to do so in the coming years. It is a huge lift that they continue to fight.)

"Pero number two [factor], na malaki bagay din 'yung nadagdag doon [sa base]. And 'yung credit talaga doon sa nadagdag, talagang sa mga kandidato din natin. Maraming sinakripisyo, maraming inilaan na pagod, at maraming sugal. Pero in the end, it all turned out well for all of us," Robredo said.

(The number two factor is that the base also expanded, and that expanded base was because of the efforts of our candidates. There were lots of sacrifices, hard work, risks taken, but in the end, it all turned out well for all of us.)

Robredo won the Naga City mayoral race via landslide by securing 91% of the votes.

Her allied party-list groups, Akbayan and ML, also outperformed their showing in pre-election surveys.

As of past 3 p.m. Tuesday, Akbayan is topping GMA Network's partial, unofficial tally of the party-list race with 2.75 million votes with over 6.7% of the votes cast.

The lone party-list endorsed by Robredo, Mamamayang Liberal (ML), led by first nominee and former senator Leila de Lima, ranked 14th and may secure at least one seat with over 540,000 votes, good for 1.32%.

"Sobrang saya. Sa amin parang anlaki ng disbelief. Siyempre we were always hoping for the best pero because of all the surveys that were coming out, parang mina-manage namin 'yung aming expectations. So nu'ng lumabas na si Senator Bam No. 2, Senator Kiko No. 5 parang it was more than what we hoped for. Kaya masayang-masaya," Robredo said.

(We are very happy. The disbelief is huge. With the surveys coming out, we were managing our expectations. But when Senator Bam ranked second, and Senator Kiko landed fifth, it was more than we hoped for. That is why we are overjoyed.)

"Akbayan party-list is number one, hindi rin inaasahan, saka iyong ML rin, hindi namin inaasahan, nakapasok iyong first nominee," Robredo added.

(Akbayan also finished number one unexpectedly, and ML also, the first nominee is in.)

Leni's role

Moving forward, Robredo said she knows her role in national politics, and having more allies at the same level certainly provides a shot in the arm in the fight for good governance.

"I will be giving more attention dito sa local, pero hindi ko naman pinabayaan 'yung role ko sa national. Siguro mas backseat lang, mas ano lang ako, mas tumutulong from the sidelines," Robredo said.

(Most of my attention will be on local, but I am not letting go of my role on the national stage. I am just at the backseat, helping from the sidelines.)

"Marami na tayong mga allies na alam natin na ipaglalaban 'yung matagal na natin pinaglaban," Robredo added.

(And now we have more allies whom we know will fight for what we have always believed in.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News

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