Shortly after announcing her presidential bid for the May 2022 polls Thursday, Oct. 7, Vice President Leni Robredo dominated Twitter trends in the Philippines with an overwhelming number of tweets as of noon.
Hashtags related to her bid such as #LabanLeni2022, Lalaban Tayo, and #DapatSiLeni topped the Philippine trends with the first hashtag earning over 200,000 tweets as of posting.
Various volunteer groups also immediately poured their support for Robredo's candidacy.
"Bago pa man siya mag-anunsyo ng kanyang kandidatura sa pagkapangulo ng bansa, ipinagkatiwala na namin sa kanya ang aming pag-asa at mga pangarap para sa bayan (Even before she announced her candidacy for the presidency, we have already entrusted her our hope and dreams for the nation)," Run TLR said in a statement.
Kaya Natin! Movement, a non-partisan, non-government organization that advocates good governance and leadership with integrity in the Philippines, vowed to "do more than campaign" for Robredo's presidential bid.
"We, members of the Kaya Natin! Movement who have long been inspired by her leadership, rise with her to the challenges ahead. Leni Robredo is the only candidate of principle and excellent capability in good governance, as seen in her recent actions in this pandemic," Kaya Natin said.
Dapat Si Leni! network, one of Robredo's support groups, also vowed their full support to the Vice President by saying, "ibubuhos natin ang lahat ng panahon, lakas, at galing upang ipanalo ang laban na ito (we will pour out all our time, strength, and wisdom to win this fight).
"Kasama niya kami, mula umpisa hanggang sa dulo ng laban, sa pagbuo muli at paghilom ng bayan. Buong-buo tayong tataya kay VP Leni dahil nakikita namin sa kaniyang pamumuno ang isang bansang maaari na uling ipagmalaki at mahalin (We are with her since the beginning until the end of this fight, to heal the nation. We will go all in for VP Leni because in her leadership, we see a nation that we will be proud of and love)," Atty. Clyde Gregorio, the group's spokesperson, said.
Various groups of farmers and laborers such as the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni (ALL4Leni); Federation of Free Workers (FFW); National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP); NAGKAISA Labor Coalition; National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE); Partido ng Manggagawa (PM); Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK); Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO); and Unified of Filipino Service Workers (UFSW) also expressed their support to Robredo.
"We welcome with enthusiasm the acceptance of VP Leni of the historic challenge of the presidency. She walked with us, with the workers, farmers and those in the laylayan ng lipunan in the past several years. We will walk with her, kapitbisig, in this enormous struggle to uphold our democratic ideals, defend trade union and human rights, and uplift the lives of the Filipino people," they said.
Robredo announced her presidential bid through a public address over social media with only a day left in the filing of certificates of candidacy.