On Valentine’s Day, VP Leni remembers late husband Jesse


Nine years on, she couldn’t imagine to be with another person.

Vice President Leni Robredo shared an old photo of her with late husband and Interior secretary Jesse Robredo on Sunday, February 14.

(Photo from Aika Robredo)

“Feels both like yesterday and a lifetime ago,” she said in a Facebook post.

This is the vice president’s ninth Valentine’s Day without Jesse. Though not holiday, Valentine’s Day is widey celebrated by couples in the country.

Jesse, who was also a six-term Naga City mayor, was killed in a plane crash in August 2012. He left behind his wife and their three daughters—Aika, Tricia, and Jillian.

His widow was thrust into politics becoming a Camarines Sur congresswoman then a vice president after his death.

The vice president has repeatedly said she has no intention of replacing Jesse in her heart because she had “enough love to last me for a lifetime.”

Aika Robredo, the vice president’s eldest, also shared a commissioned family portrait of the Robredos. 

“I imagine this is how our complete family portrait would look like now. Here’s to love beyond time and measure,” she wrote.

Aika said she used Valentine’s Day “as an excuse” to commission “the very talented Drea” to make the portrait.

The eldest Robredo sibling said their family was due for an updated portrait because their last family photo was taken in 2012 before her father passed away. 

The artist used a photo from the Robredos’ last family vacation two years ago and inserted Secretary Jesse in the photo. 

“Papa fits perfectly between Patty and Jill,” Aika said, referring to her two younger siblings.