The 13 surviving members of the 1971-1972 Constitutional Convention on Sunday, March 20, endorsed the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo.
“We the surviving members of the 1971-72 Constitutional Convention give our unconditional and total support to Vice President Leni Robredo,” they said in a statement.
They added that only Robredo has “an unblemished government track record of absolute honesty and integrity, a true public servant for the poor as proven by her many projects for the down-trodden and the least of society, meets and fits the highest credentials for the Presidency.”
The Concon members also lauded her for presenting a concrete action program to solve and address many of the country’s woes such as economic stagnation, Covid-19 pandemic, poverty, human rights abuses, graft and corruption, educational system, agriculture, and the West Philippine Sea dispute.
“And most of all, the urgency and crying need to restore faith in our government institutions so that justice, the rule of law, and morality must prevail and bring back the values of respect, honesty, integrity in government and among the citizenry; among many other concerns,” their statement said.
The signatories include reelectionist Senator Richard Gordon, who was the youngest member of the convention. The senator is a guest candidate under Robredo’s ticket.
The 12 others are lawyers Lilia B. de Lima, Leandro Garcia, and Manuel Molina, retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., Ricardo Quintos, former Justice Adolf Azcuna, Ambassador Amado Tolentino Jr., Natalio Castillo Jr., Gonzalo Catan Jr., former Justice Teresita Dy-Liaco Flores, former Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo, and Sr. Sonia S. Aldeguer.
The 1971-1972 Constitutional Convention was assembled by the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, but several delegates were imprisoned after they refused to support his 1973 Constitution.
Among the political detainees were former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., former Senator Heherson Alvarez, Jose Concepcion, Jose Mari Velez, and Napoleon Rama.