CEBU CITY—It was not the famed Sinulog Festival but Cebuanos on Thursday, Feb. 24, welcomed Vice President Leni Robredo and running mate Senator Kiko Pangilinan in an electrifying grand rally that drew over 10,000 supporters to the Southwestern University PHINMA.
Even before Robredo took the stage at around 7 p.m, pink-clad supporters already trooped to the venue where they were welcomed with performances from artists such JK Labajo and Gab Valenciano.
In between chants of “Leni!” and “Madam President,” Robredo thanked Cebuanos for voting for her in 2016 despite being an unknown in the political scene.
“Noong kumandidato ako ng 2016, bagong salta ako pero pinanalo ko dito almost 500,000 votes. Kaya kung hindi po ako tinulungan ng Cebu ng ganon kalaki, hindi po sana ako Vice President ngayon (When I ran in 2016, I was a newbie but I won here by almost 500,000 votes. If Cebu did not help me that big, I am not a Vice President today),” she said.
Robredo won by just 200,000 against her rival, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
But the Vice President turned emotional as she shared that it was hard for her to come back to Cebu after the death of her husband, former Interior secretary Jesse Robredo, because it was the last place he went to before his plane crashed in August 2012.
“Noong tinulungan nyo po ako na maging pangalawang pangulo, hindi ko po kinalimutan ‘yung lahat ng pinangako ko dito sa Cebu (When you helped me become vice president, I did not forget all the promises I made here in Cebu),” she said, adding that her flagship poverty alleviation program, Angat Buhay, has a local chapter in the province.
Amid cheers, Robredo said she and Kiko offer a governance where people are inspired to help and contribute.
“Kapag malinis and pamahalaan, may tiwala ang mamamayan (When the government is clean, the people has trust),” she added.
READ: Robredo hopeful on 'repeat victory' in Cebu ; 'I served well'
The aspiring president warned the audience not to get fooled by empty promises, and urged them to ask, “Nung walang eleksyon, nasaan ka (When there was no election, where were you)?”
Her supporters went wild even as Robredo continued to speak to ask if they can be this energetic until the elections.
“Lahat ng ayaw natin sa pulitika, pwede natin baguhin sa pagpili ng tama ngayong halalan (All that we hate about politics, we can change by choosing wisely this election),” Robredo said.
“Kapag hindi natin winakasan, wala tayong pagbabagong maasahan. Ang kapangyarihan nasa bawat isa sa inyo, wala po sa aming pulitiko (If we don’t end it, we cannot expect change. The power is in each of you, not in us politicians),” she added.
She went on to read the placards that supporters, mostly comprised of young Cebuanos, held, one of which said, “Di nabaleng lugaw, huwag lang magnanakaw (Never mind you’re porridge, just not a thief)!”
‘Kinabukasan ang nakataya’
Before Robredo took the stage, Pangilinan addressed the crowd and talked about his and the Vice President’s track record in public service.
The stakes are high in the coming elections, the senator said, because the future of the generations and the millions of Filipinos depend on its outcome.
“Yung inyong tiwala ay sagrado at hindi basta basta binabalewala (Your trust is sacred and should not be put aside),” he added.
As the country suffered from the pandemic in the past two years, Pangilinan stated that it became even more apparent that lives, health, jobs, and the economy are at stake.
Standing before a crowd of supporters, Pangilinan said he can see how people are standing up for their beliefs.
“Lahat tayo tumataya, kumikilos dahil alam natin kinabukasan natin ang nakataya (All of us are betting, mobilizing because we know our future is at stake),” he added.
With its more than 3.2 million voters, vote-rich Cebu is the target of every campaign, and the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem brought the big guns with megastar Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan taking the stage after the Vice President to rally the crowd once more.
She re-introduced Robredo’s Senate slate—former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, reelectionist Senator Richard Gordon, lawyers Alex Lacson and Sonny Matula, and a representative for detained reelectionist Senator Leila de Lima.
Cuneta said that she was an adopted daughter of Cebu since she was 14 years old, and joked to a roaring crowd that she’s willing to share husband with them if they will vote for him.
READ: Sharon Cuneta joins Robredo, Pangilinan in Cebu; plans to join more campaign sorties
“Itong manok ko, ako lang chicks nya. Itong si Kiko...walang kasing tapat ang puso ng asawa ko (My bet, I’m his only girl. Kiko . . . my husband’s honest heart is incomparable),” the actress added.
The rally ended with the Cebu crowd singing to “I Love Cebu” as they turned on their phones’ screen lights and a disc jockey playing Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” as the audience sang along.
A Twitter party
Over on social media platform Twitter, #CebuIsPink is trending with over 47,000 tweets.
Kakampinks, the term Robredo’s supporters call themselves, are said to be having a healthy competition on who can give the best grand rally for the tandem.
“This is a movement,” @JohnIvann tweeted.
“Crowd went wild when former Mayor Tommy Osmeña said “No more Marcos, no more Duterte”,” Di GC (@divinegc) wrote.
“LET’S WIN THIS ONE,” @_MissGe said, posting a photo of the makeshift house with the words “Leni Kiko” tied to a bunch of pink balloons.
“#CebuIsPink energy for VP Leni is amazing!,” said Zion Ryan Cruz (@zryanverse).