Is Vice President Leni Robredo a Swiftie? She is or she may be not.
The presidential aspirant showed her fun side as she danced to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “22” in Cebu City as administration bets scrambled for last-minute candidacy withdrawals and substitutions at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Robredo was in Cebu City for a two-day visit with her running mate, Senator Kiko Pangilinan. She held various activities, including meeting with her volunteers and supporters who cajoled her into dancing to the tune of “22.”
“Dami nangyayari / Pero gaya ni Mareng Taylor: I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling ‘22 / Chill lang tayo (A lot has been happening / But as Taylor said: I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling ‘22 / Let’s just chill),” she posted on her social media accounts.
The Vice President also included a cartwheel and meditation emoji in her post.
The “’22” in her post seemed to refer to the 2022 elections but Swift’s version of the song refers to being 22 in age.
The 34-second clip showed the aspiring president laughing and dancing as Swift’s vocals blared at the background. As of posting, the video has more than 467,000 views on Twitter with 796 replies, 13,400 retweets, and more than 63,000 likes.
Part of Swift’s lyrics said “I don't know about you / But I'm feeling 22 / Everything will be alright if / You keep me next to you.”
Lawyer Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesman, said over dzXL on Sunday, Nov. 14, that the events on the side of the administration were nothing but a “drama” they did expect.
“Nagawa na iyan dati, hindi na yan bago (That has been done before, that’s not new). In fact, lahat ng tao iyan na iyong ine-expect mangyari na sa dulo magkakaroon ng (people already expect that to happen that in the end, there will be) last minute na mga substitution,” he noted, referring to the 2015 substitution by President Duterte of then PDP-Laban presidential candidate and now Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño.
READ: Bato exits, Bong Go declares presidential bid, Duterte to file for VP on Nov. 15
For Robredo, the important thing is to focus on the campaign by boosting her supporters' ranks and volunteers from all over the country.
“At (And) slow but surely, iyon yung paglakas ng ating hanay, iyong pagtaas ng ating numero papunta sa tagumpay sa May 2022. So, relax lang, iyon ang kanyang mensahe, di ba. ‘Wag tayo mabahala dito (strengthening our ranks, improving our numbers toward victory in May 2022. So, let’s relax, that’s her message, right. Let’s not be bothered by this),” Gutierrez said.
On Twitter, Robredo’s spokesman reiterated why it is now more important than ever to put a stop to the current leadership.
“If we still needed a reminder of why the 2022 election is so crucial, we got one today. While we desperately need the pandemic under control, food and jobs for the poor, and our kids back in school, our current leadership plays games with the electoral system. Tama na. Sobra na (Time to stop, it’s too much),” he posted.
On Saturday, members of the administration, including Duterte, trooped to the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila to withdraw the candidacy of former Philippine National Police Chief, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, as president under the ruling party PDP-Laban.
This was followed by Senator Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go, a close friend and aide of the President, filing his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan (PDDS) to substitute for its presidential candidate, Grepor Belgica.
Also on Saturday, presidential daughter Duterte-Carpio, through a representative, filed a COC for vice president under Senator Bong Revilla’s and former President Gloria Arroyo’s Lakas-CMD.