By Raymund Antonio Vice President Leni Robredo said on Wednesday she was expecting the “Otso Diretso” slate to get the coveted Iloilo vote like what she accomplished in the 2016 vice presidential race. VP LENI & LP CANDIDATES---Vice President Leni Robredo (3rd from right) accompanies opposition senatorial candidates Gary Alejano (left), Erin Tañada (2nd from left), Samira Gutoc (foreground, center), and Florin “Pilo” Hilbay (right) Wednesday during the local launching of Ahon Laylayan Koalisyon at Ateneo de Iloilo. Robredo urged Ilonggos to vote for Otso Diretso. (TARA YAP / MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo made her pitch for the eight opposition senatorial candidates during the launch of the Ahon Laylayan Coalition in Iloilo City in the hopes the Ilonggos would also support them. Iloilo, a known bailiwick of the opposition, has 1.4 million registered voters. Robredo said she obtained more than 62 percent of votes against her opponents in the 2016 polls, when she won in the 44 towns of the province. She won in Iloilo with 573,839 votes. It was the second highest number of votes Robredo received, next only to Camarines Sur, which is her home province. In an interview with reporters after her speech, she hoped the Ilonggos would repeat the same thing for Otso Diretso in May. “Sana magtranslate siya, kasi iyong Iloilo naman, kapag titignan natin history ng botohan dito, parati very intelligent iyong voters, very discerning... So very hopeful ako na makaka-harvest kami dito ng maraming boto,” she said. (I hope it would translate to votes, because Iloilo, once you look at the history of elections here, the voters were always very intelligent, very discerning… So I’m very hopeful that we can harvest many votes here.) Otso Diretso bets Gary Alejano, Florin Hilbay, Erin Tañada, and Samira Gutoc joined Robredo in her visit to Iloilo. The Vice President was also in the province for a series of meetings with various sectoral leaders and members. After leaving Iloilo City, the opposition bets were set to join Robredo in the towns of Cabatuan, Janiuay, and Lambunao. On the sidelines of the Laylayan Coalition event, the four Otso Diretso candidates denied that their earlier visit to Panatag Shoal was a publicity stunt. “Ang issue ng West Philippine Sea ay hindi biro, hindi ito dinadaan sa publicity stunt (The issue on the West Philippine Sea is not a joke, this can’t be done through publicity stunt),” Alejano said. “What we did was a symbolic act of challenging the President that once and for all he should stand up for our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he added. For Hilbay, if there’s any publicity stunt, it’s President Duterte’s campaign promise to ride a jetski and plant the Philippine flag on the islands in West Philippine Sea. Alejano said they plan to return to Panatag with a formal request to the Philippine Coast Guard. He said the PCG has required all fishermen to submit a manifesto before sailing, adding that they wanted to see if there are other people in the list, including the media. Tañada also challenged other senatorial bets to join them in Panatag Shoal in a symbolic act of asserting the country’s rights over the West Philippine Sea. “Ang issue ng West Philippine Sea ay hindi dapat sa oposisyon lang. Issue ito ng buong Pilipinas, so kasama dyan ang kandidato ng administrasyon, at dito natin malalaman kung may pagmamahal ba sila sa maliliit na mangingisda o wala,” he said. (The issue on the West Philippine Sea is not only for the opposition. This is an issue about the entire Philippines, so the administration candidates are included and we would know whether or not they have concern for the fishermen.) “Magsama-sama tayong pumunta sa West Philippine Sea, at igiit ang ating soberanya (Let us go together to the West Philippine Sea and assert our sovereignty),” he added. #MatalinongBoto2019 READ MORE:  Otso Diretso bets remind Duterte of jetski promise to assert PH rights over WPS