SAN FERNANDO, La Union—Trying to gain a foothold in the so-called “Solid North”, Vice President Leni Robredo and running mate Senator Kiko Pangilinan went back in Northern Luzon, receiving again a warm reception here.
A massive crowd of Robredo-Pangilinan supporters from La Union and its nearby provinces showed up at the “Elyu Pink Wave” People’s Rally held at the Saint Louis College on Tuesday, April 12.
It was the two candidates’ third foray into the bailiwick of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after they barnstormed Pangasinan and Isabela in their previous campaign sorties.
“Nakikita ko ‘yung ginagawa ninyo. Napakasipag ninyo– ‘yung ating volunteers. Hindi lang ‘yung volunteers natin sa La Union pero ‘yung volunteers natin sa Ilocos Sur, maraming salamat. ‘Yung volunteers natin sa Ilocos Norte, napakatapang, (I’ve been seeing what you’re doing. You’re very diligent—our volunteers. Not only our volunteers in La Union but our volunteers from Ilocos Sur, thank you very much. Our volunteers from Ilocos Norte are fearless),” Robredo said in her speech.
The aspiring president also expressed gratitude to her supporters from Abra, Baguio, and Pangasinan, which she visited just last week.
Robredo admitted that she felt nervous going to the northern provinces because of its reputation of being loyal and supportive to the Marcoses. But once again, her supporters made sure that she had nothing to worry about.
A jampacked crowd of kakampinks before noontime came in full force at the people’s rally to express their full support for the Vice President.
In the 2016 vice-presidential race, Robredo lost big to Marcos Jr. in La Union after she only got 19,596 votes against Marcos Jr.’s 338,455 votes.
The lady official said it’s time to change the Filipinos’ regionalism, especially during elections.
“Alam niyo, naiintindihan ko naman kung bakit, dahil alam ko na ‘yung Pilipino, masyadong regionalistic, di ba?(You know, I understand why, because I know Filipinos are too regionalistic, right?),” she noted.
“Kaya bawat kampanya ko sa amin sa Bicol Region, lagi ko sa kanilang sinasabi na, pag kayo magdedesisyon, wag niyo kong botohan dahil Bicolano ako. Ang titingnan niyo, kung hindi ba ako Bicolano, bobotohan niyo pa din ba ako? (That’s why everytime I campaign in Bicol Region, I always tell them that, if you’ll make a decision, don’t vote for me because I’m a Bicolano. What you should look at, if I’m not a Bicolano, would you still vote for me?),” she added.
As the results of the Bar exam came out after Robredo’s speech, she took the time to congratulate John Michael Mugas, who found out he passed the exam while attending the rally.
The Vice President invited Mugas to come up on stage.
The odds in La Union appear not to be in favor of Robredo but her supporters in the north are determined to break the “Solid North”.
“Of the total votes cast in La Union, five percent lang ang nakuha niya . Iba ngayon. Noon, kakaunti lang kaming nagkampanya, ngayon makita mo ‘yung (she only got five percent. It’s different now. Before, a few only campaigned, now you can see the) groundswell of support. This is the first time in the history of Philippine politics that several volunteers, organized and unorganized, are doing their own ,” said Cris Palabay, coordinator of Robredo People’s Council - La Union.
In a tweet right after the rally, Robredo penned an appreciation post for the warm reception she got in the northern province.
“Ang tindi ng energy sa La Union!! Maraming, maraming salamat sa mga taga-Norte na tumitindig kasama natin. Dahil sa tapang at pagmamahal n'yo, ramdam ang agos ng pag-asa (La Union is in high energy! Many thanks to those from the north who stand up with us. Because of your courage and love, we feel the flow of hope),” she said in the Twitter post with two pink hearts.