Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo has no intention to run for a Senate seat in the May 2022 polls.
In an interview on ANC’s Headstart, Robredo was asked if she is open to running for senator in the upcoming elections.
“No, I’m not,” the vice president said on Monday, September 6.
“Tingin ko hindi iyong ang aking strength (I think that’s not my strength),” Robredo explained when further pressed for answers.
She earlier stated that she’s giving herself until Oct. 8–the last day of the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for all elective positions in the 2022 polls–to decide.
The vice president is being eyed as the opposition standard-bearer for her capability to lead the pandemic-hit country.
More than 200 volunteer groups across sectors and provinces already signed a manifesto calling on her to seek the presidency.
READ: Decision time for Robredo draws near
If she does not run for president, Robredo said she can either run for a local post in Camarines Sur, her home province, or she can simply retire.
“I can just help the next administration if i don’t run for president,” the lady official added.
Robredo expressed gratitude to various volunteer groups pushing for her presidential bid next year.
“I’m very, very grateful for the trust and support. As I’ve been saying, I don’t take this trust lightly and I continue to give serious thought to this,” she said.
Because she believes "so much is at stake" in the 2022 polls, Robredo is meeting with different groups as part of her focus to widen the reach and broaden the base of the opposition.
“I still firmly believe that we need to talk beyond our usual circles. Ang paniniwala ko pa rin (My belief) is to go into 2022 a united front,” Robredo said.
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Among the more than 200 groups backing Robredo’s presidential bid include laborers, health care workers, teachers, church workers, youth and artists such as Pia and Saab Magalona, actor Enchong Dee, vlogger and host Bianca Gonzales, and singer Bituin Escalante.
Lawyers like Romulo Macalintal, Chel Diokno, former Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te, and Dean Mel Sta. Maria also expressed their support to Robredo’s candidacy.