Controversial politicians with varying political backgrounds and beliefs were among those named under Vice President Leni Robredo's senatorial ticket for the May 2022 polls.
Robredo on Friday, Oct. 15, affirmed that forming a diverse set of senatorial slate composed of allies, a former vice president and senators, including some rivals-turned-allies, is still consistent with her vision to unify as many sectors as possible.
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Leila de Lima, human rights lawyer Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno, former Ifugao representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr., Alex Lacson of Kapatiran Party, Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Senator Joel Villanueva, and former Vice President Jejomar Binay were named as the first 11 senatorial candidates of the opposition.
The Vice President justified her lineup saying that their "willingness to set aside their differences" to commit themselves in achieving the same goals outweighs their differences on past issues.
"Alam mo, iba-iba iyong kasaysayan. Kapag tiningnan natin iyong 11 na nasa slate na ngayon, iba-iba iyong pinagdaanan, iba-iba iyong kasaysayan. Pero iyong pinakamahalaga, noong nakiusap tayo na magkaisa, iyong kahandaan na isantabi iyong mga dating pinagdaanan, nandoon (You know their histories vary. When we are looking at the 11-man slate now, they have gone through different things, they have varying backgrounds. But the most important is, when we sought for unity, the readiness to set aside the past differences, is there)," Robredo said.
"At iyong paniniwala, nagko-commit sa ating aspiration na linisin natin iyong bureaucracy, nagko-commit sa ating aspiration na hintuin na iyong bulok na klase ng politika—na marami tayong kailangan asikasuhin as far as governance is concerned (And the belief, the commitment to our aspiration to clean the bureaucracy and stop the rotten system of politics--that we have a lot of things to work on as far as governance is concerned)," she added.
The opposition leader asserted that the set of candidates under her bid are people who showed that certain readiness to rise above their differences.
"Ako, naniniwala ako na wala namang perpekto sa amin, kahit ako. Walang perpekto sa amin, pero iyong pinakamahalaga, iyong commitment saka iyong readiness na umupo sa isang lamesa at pakinggan iyong iba’t ibang paniniwala ng mga kasama, at magpanday ng isang—hindi lang plano pero pati iyong agreement to operationalize iyong ating aspirations (I believe that no one among us is perfect, even me. Nobody from us is perfect, but the most important thing is the commitment and readiness to sit in one table and listen to the varying beliefs of our members and to forge a --not just a plan but also the agreement to operationalize our aspirations)," Robredo said.
"Sila iyong nagpakita sa atin ng ganoong kahandaan (They were the ones who showed that kind of readiness)," she added.
Robredo explained that she was not the only one who decided on the slate. They were nominated by many different groups of people, she said.
This was echoed by Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Robredo's running mate, saying that the enemy is not each other but the pandemic.
"Oo, mayroon kaming mga diperensiya. Oo, mayroon kaming mga nakaraang pakikipagtunggali. Pero ang sabi ko nga, unless matuto tayo—Democracy, sabi nga nila, is learning to work with people you dislike, up to a certain extent. (Yes, we have differences. Yes, we have past feuds. But as I said, unless we learn---democracy, as they say, is learning to work with people you dislike, up to a certain extent)," Pangilinan said.
Robredo further said that the guest candidates they have chosen were "among the very first who responded to our call for unity."
"I am not regarding them ever as enemies, we had disagreements in the paths we have chosen to take before. The willingness to unite is already an important thing," she said.