Vice President Leni Robredo’s home region of Bicol turned pink for a day as residents and supporters welcomed her motorcade from Naga City to neighboring Albay.
Photos from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) showed that supporters wore pink shirts and waved pink flags while they danced and celebrated as the motorcade made its way along the streets.
Some made the “L” sign with their hand as they alternatively shouted her name and the word “laban (fight)” to show their support for Naga’s favorite daughter and her running mate, Senator Kiko Pangilinan.
Robredo was in Albay not to campaign but to lead the turnover of projects aimed at enhancing the fisherfolk’s livelihood.
Both the Añgas Small Fisherfolks Association (ASFA) and Mapulang Daga Fisherfolks and Weavers Association (MAFWA) are beneficiaries of Angat Buhay, the anti-poverty program of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The Vice President addressed her supporters, saying that this is a “huge opportunity” for Bicol to have its first president.
READ: Robredo urged by Bicolanos to run for president
“Ang pakiwari ko, dahil hindi ko naman ito ambisyon , hindi naman siguro ako maitutulak sa ganitong sitwasyon kung walang gustong ipagawa sa akin ang Mahal na Diyos (My feeling is that since this is not my ambition , God would not put me in this situation if He doesn’t intend for me to do something,” she said.
Robredo doesn’t mind that she lacks the resources and machinery of the competition.
“Pero kung ang tao mismo iyong gagalaw, para sa akin (But if the people themselves will mobilize, for me), no amount of resources, no amount of machinery, no amount of preparation iyong tatalo sa lakas ng taumbayan (will defeat the strength of the people). So, kung ito ay ma-sustain natin until election time, mayroon tayong laban (if we can sustain this until election time, we have a chance),” she stressed.
From her hometown of Naga, the motorcade made its way to Albay passing through Ligao, Tabaco, and Bacacay.
The motorcade also passed by coastal towns where fishermen decorated their bancas with pink ribbons to greet the Vice President.
Pink has been an accidental campaign color of Robredo after it was chosen by supporters and volunteers, and eventually adopted by her to symbolize hope, empathy, kindness, and love.”
READ: ‘Pink not just a color, it’s a way of life'–Robredo
She calls it the “people’s movement” after thousands of her supporters took to the streets to organize parades and motorcades aiming to “bring back good governance, honesty, integrity, and decency after years of hate and divisiveness in the country.”
Robredo was accompanied by Tabaco Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro and Vice Mayor Nestor San Pablo.
They travelled by boat to Barangay Añgas in San Miguel Island and met with ASFA members who received two units of fiber glass and the locally-funded Lambaklad Project, which will extend the reach of the trap to 50 meters to catch more species of tuna and other fish.
From San Miguel Island, Robredo returned to the Pili Iraya Port and took another boat going to Barangay Mapulang Daga in Cagraray Island in Bacacay.
With Bacacay Mayor Armando Romano, she turned over two fish cages and other assistance to support the livelihood of the MAFWA fisherfolk.