PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Before thousands of Palaweños here, Vice President Leni Robredo made a pact on Wednesday, April 6: if she wins, she will protect the environment that has made the island “the last ecological frontier in the Philippines” and the best island in the world.

“Kapag kami po ni Senator Kiko yung inyong tinulungan, ang priority po natin dito talagang proteksyon ng kalikasan (If you help me and Senator Kiko, our priority here really is the protection of the environment),” she said during the “Paglaem: Palawan People’s Rally” at the Puerto Princesa Baywalk Park.

“Dahil pag ating pinangalagaan ang inyong kalikasan, ang balik din niyan ay sa inyo—yung kabuhayan para wag magutom, yung proteksyon ng ating mga buhay, yung pinagkukunan ng iba’t-ibang yamang lupa at yamang dagat na tayo rin yung magbebenepisyo (Because if we take care of your environment, the benefit will be for you—the livelihood so as not to get hungry, the protection of our lives, the resources from different land and water riches that benefit us),” Robredo added.

Calling Palawan “beautiful,” the Vice President said Palaweños are surely proud of their island.

According to the Vice President, the island is home to 30 percent of all remaining mangroves, 40 percent of all coral reefs, and 50 percent of all forests in the Philippines.

She highlighted the importance of protecting the environment because doing so will create more jobs.

This is not Robredo’s first time in the province that contributed to bringing her to victory in 2016.

Palawan delivered more than 183,800 votes for the then “unknown” Camarines Sur Rep. Robredo against her rival, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who got only 93,600 votes.

And just like today, she also promised in 2016 that she would serve the farthest and the poorest of the people.

“Kahit wala pa akong napapakita sa inyo, tinulungan niyo ko pero ngayon po, matitingnan ko kayo mata sa mata (Even though I haven’t proven anything to you, you helped me but now, I can look you in the eyes),” Robredo said.

“Pwede ko pong sabihin sa inyo na ‘yung anim na taon na ibinigay nyo sa akin, ginawa ko ang lahat para makapagsilbi sa inyo (I can tell you that in the six years you have given me, I did all to serve you),” she added.

Aside from helping the province with medical assistance funds and personal protective equipment (PPE) sets at the height of the pandemic, Robredo also led feeding and livelihood programs.

On top of those, she focused on school children and seaweed farmers and provided solar kits to barangays without electricity.

Heavy rains from morning until afternoon threatened the grand rally, but the kakampinks stayed from noon until Robredo finally took the stage at nightfall.

As is with her other rallies, particularly the one in Rizal province on Tuesday, the rain stopped minutes before she was set to deliver her speech.

It has been a running joke among the kakampinks that the Vice President was a rain stopper.