The joint presser of some of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo’s rivals drew mixed reactions on Sunday, April 17, from her three daughters and senatorial bets from her ticket.
Robredo’s daughters—Aika, Tricia, and Jillian—tweeted the same message that their mother is being attacked for being a woman, but she remains undeterred and will not back down from the fight
“Focus tayo (Let’s focus),” Aika wrote, followed with a Philippine and pink flower emojis.
“Babae (Women),” Tricia, the Vice President’s middle child, said with a pink flower emoji.
“In more important news,” Jillian tweeted with the same pink flower emoji.
The Sumilao farmers, whom Robredo helped when they marched to Malacañang in 2007 for their ancestral domain, reached her hometown of Naga City from Iriga on Easter Sunday.
The Robredo sisters are in their hometown to welcome them.
“Masaya ang Easter Sunday lunch namin kanina kasama ang mga Sumilao farmers — nasa Naga na sila!! Salamat po sa patuloy na pagmamartsa (Our Easter Sunday lunch is happy because we are with Sumilao farmers—they are now in Naga!! Thank you for continuing to March),” Aika wrote.
This was retweeted by Jillian.
Presidential candidates Senator Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales held a press conference on Sunday, April 17, to announce that they are not withdrawing from the race and also to criticize Robredo for supposedly asking them to withdraw.
READ: Lacson: None of us are withdrawing our presidential bids
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, both running for senator under the ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo, reacted to the attacks by Robredo’s rivals.
“Mga kawawang cowboy (Miserable cowboys),” Diokno wrote on Twitter.
Trillanes said that the press conference held at the Manila Peninsula Hotel was the reason why she was against Robredo unifying with Moreno and Lacson.
“Alam n’yo na ngayon kung bakit pinipigilan ko ang (Now you know why I was stopping the) unification talks ni (of) VP Leni sa mga ‘yan (with them) before the filing. Hindi tayo parehas ng paniniwala sa mga ‘yan. Tuloy ang laban para sa (We don’t have the same beliefs like them. Let’s continue the fight for),” he posted on Twitter with hashtags #TeamLeniKiko and #SwitchToLeni.
Trillanes was referring to the unification talks between Robredo, Moreno, Lacson, and Senator Manny Pacquiao before the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) in October 2021.