Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday, October 31, said she is hopeful that this time around, her home region of Bicol will solidly back her candidacy for president.
The presidential aspirant, however, clarified that she is not “entitled” to have the whole of Bicol on her side.
“Ako, hindi naman sa nag-e-expect pero naghohope ako (I am not expecting but I’m hoping,” she said, adding that she received the majority of the votes from the region in 2016 despite having five vice presidential candidates from the region.
Aside from Robredo who hails from Naga City, Gov. Chiz Escudero is from Sorsogon while former Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Gringo Honasan II also trace their roots from Bicol.
Former Senator and now Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, is married to a Bicolano.
Despite having five candidates from the region, Robredo topped the polls followed by Escudero and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Cayetano, Honasan, and Trillanes got a small portion of the votes.
“Iyong paniniwala ko, kailangan naiintindihan ng tao what it would mean—what it would mean for our region na magkaroon ng Bicolanong pangulo. So kailangan nagte-take time ako to explain to them na mahalaga ito. Mahalaga itong laban na ito (My belief is that the people need to understand what it would mean—what it would mean for our region to have a Bicolano president. So, I need to take time to explain to them that this is important. This fight is important),” Robredo said.
“So ngayon na solo ako, pagtratrabahuhan ko. Pagtratrabahuhan ko na mas malaki iyong makuha (So, now that I am solo, I will work for it. I will work to get more),” she added.
Escudero, who is running for senator under her ticket, met her last Friday, Oct. 29 in Sorsogon.
Prior to this, Robredo visited at least two remote islands to meet fisherfolk in Albay, where she also had a motorcade from her home town of Naga City.
READ: Bicolanos celebrate Robredo’s visit in Albay with ‘Pink Day’
The Vice President was also in various towns in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur over the weekend.
Robredo, however, said that the good thing about her present campaign is that the people themselves are mobilizing for her.
“Pero ngayon ang pakiramdam ko iyong tao invested siya, not because gusto nila ako suportahan, siguro bahagi lang iyon, pero ang pakiramdam ng tao, laban nila ‘to eh, ‘di ba? Na nakita ko in the last four days, na ang pakiramdam ng tao, kabahagi sila sa laban na ito and hindi lang sila simpleng sumusuporta sa akin (But now I feel that the people are invested, not because they want to support me, although that is a part, but the people feel that this is their fight, too, right? I saw in the last four days, the people feel that they are a part of this fight and they’re not simply supporting me),” she added.
Aside from the support of her fellow Bicolanos, who wore pink clothes and waved pink flags and banners as they welcomed her along the road, local chief executives in the province have also been expressing their support for her.
READ: Leni-Kiko tandem backed by Bicol mayors; Iloilo governor vows support