Robredo eyed as LP standard bearer in 2022, but "she's too busy" - Pangilinan

The Liberal Party is considering Vice President Leni Robredo as the party’s presidential candidate for the May 2022 national elections but she is too busy helping out in the COVID-19 response efforts, Senator Francis Pangilinan said on Thursday.

Pangilinan said the second highest public official of the country is too busy focusing on COVID-19 initiatives that seek to help the “unreached” overcome the economic crisis that gripped the country due to the pandemic.

But the president of the Liberal Party said the party may still field Robredo as their nominee for next year’s polls, but nothing is definite yet.

“Of course, she is (our choice) because she is the highest elected official of the party. So she is also being considered, but she herself said that she has no decision yet. Marami pang pwedeng mangyari (A lot of things may still happen),” Pangilinan said in an online press briefing.

“In the meantime, we just focus on how we can help address this pandemic and this crisis because, sa totoo lang ang pinakamatinding krisis sa ngayon, ay yung economic crisis, and health crisis. So as public servants yan ang tinututukan namin ngayon (we are focused on that),” Pangilinan said.

According to Pangilinan, the LP has no solid stand yet on who should be their candidates for next year’s elections.

“Wala pa. Hindi pa namin pinag-uusapan kung sino ang magiging kandidato. Wala pang nagde-decision sa amin tungkol diyan (We haven’t decided yet. We haven’t even discussed who are our candidates. We have yet to decide on that matter),” he said.

“So nakatutok talaga, halimbawa si VP, sa problema sa COVID. Yun ang kanyang initiative, na matulunungan an gating mga kababayan, sa usaping frontliners, usapin ng hanapbuhay, consumers, vendors… (So the party is focused, like the VP, is focused on the problems on COVID. That’s her initiative—to help our frontliners, look out for the concerns of frontliners, on livelihood, concerns of consumers, and vendors…),” he said.

Pangilinan stated: “I understand that there are some groups that are already discussing 2022. Ok yun, let them start. Sa amin naman, I think 2022 is really about the voters. So tayo sa LP tuloy-tuloy lang ang ating recruitment sa baba, pagtulong sa komunidad para malampasan itong COVID (So we in the LP will just continue our recruitment in the grassroots, helping out communities to overcome this COVID).”

“Hopefully if we are able to show a good performance, voters will remember that and will support us… itong mga economic issues muna ang harapin muna natin ngayon (let’s deal with this economic issues first). Political issues can wait,” Pangilinan stressed.