Then-Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo received over 590,000 votes in Negros Occidental when she ran for vice president in 2016.
Now with the presidency on her sights, Robredo is back in the province with high hopes that its people would give her even more votes come May 2022.
"Ino-offer ko ulit iyong sarili ko sa tao. Iyong sa akin naman, siyempre (I'm once again offering myself to the people. As for me, of course) I pray that will get more votes," Robredo said in a press conference Friday, Nov. 5 in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
"Negros was, I think, if I am not mistaken, about top three or top five of the provinces which gave me the most number of votes . And siyempre (Of course), I am still hoping that not only will I duplicate that feat, but mas marami pang makuha (but that I will get more votes)," she added.
Negros Occidental is the fifth most vote-rich province in the country, with 1.6 million registered voters back in 2016.
Figures from the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS) of the Provincial Board of Canvassers showed that Robredo amassed 590,457 votes. This was higher than the votes garnered by Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas (558,216), whom she ran with five years ago.
Robredo won the vice presidency in 2016 by the skin of her teeth--former Senator Bongbong Marcos, her closest rival, was beaten by less than 220,000 votes.
Robredo and Marcos are both vying for the Palace seat in next year's elections.
While the lady official is hopeful that Negro Occidental will once again deliver big for her, she is still not taking anything for granted.
"In every elections, I am never confident. In every elections, para sa akin (for me) I am not entitled to anything. I should work hard for it. Iyong sa akin (For me), the sheer number of votes that I got from Negros was a big blessing—but I worked very, very hard for it. Ngayong eleksyon, ganoon pa rin (It remains the same for the coming elections).
"I am not entitled to anything that I work hard for. So sa akin (So for me), iyong pagbalik ko sa Negros (My return to Negros) is to show people that I have not reneged on my promises—the promises that I committed myself to in 2016," the opposition leader said.