BALANGA, Bataan — Vice President Leni Robredo does not have the most number of incumbent local officials in her campaign but despite this, she remains hopeful that the people will prove the power is in their hands on May 9.
Except for a councilor, there was no governor, congressman, or mayor on stage with Robredo during the “Bayanihan” Bataan grand rally on Tuesday, April 19. Only former Senator Jun Magsaysay was there to raise hers and running mate Sen. Kiko Pangilinan’s hands.
She, however, received the endorsement of about 155 lawyers from Central Luzon and some 90 percent of the priests in the province.
“Alam niyo po, wala na yatang kasing sarap sa pakiramdam na ang tumataas sa aming mga kamay mga ordinaryong mamamayang Pilipino (You know, nothing feels better than ordinary Filipinos raising our hands),” Robredo said.
She added that this means more for her and Pangilinan, and challenged the people to bring the power back to their hands on Election Day.
“Ngayong eleksyon, dapat ipakita natin kahit wala masyado tayong kakampi na local officials, mas malakas ang lakas ng pinagkaisang taumbayan (This election, we should show that even if we don’t have many local officials as allies, a united citizenry is more powerful),” the Vice President told a sea of supporters.
The aspiring president added that it’s not important if there are no local officials ready to endorse her and Pangilinan but what matters is the people’s readiness to fight for the country.
“At ito, walang sinabi ang pera, walang sinabi ang makinarya sa laki ng pagmamahal nyo sa ating bayan. At ito yung dapat nating ipakita ngayong eleksyon (And this, money does not matter, machinery does not matter because of how big your love is for the country. This is what we should show this election),” Robredo said.
But looking at the mammoth crowd of kakampinks before her, the Vice President can’t help but be overwhelmed.
“Marami pala tayo (We are plenty),” she said.
The lady official reminded the crowd that she lost big in Bataan in 2016, to which her supporters replied! “Babawi kami (We will make it up)!”
This is the reason why when she visited back on Feb. 12, just after the start of the campaign season, she and her team didn’t plan any event to meet supporters since there might not be that many attendees.
It was only after someone asked her to look out the window while she was in Church that she realized how many of her supporters had been waiting for her.
That video of Robredo addressing the crowd from a Church balcony became viral on social media and angered critics.
“Grabe, pambihira kayo. Alam niyo po, ginulat niyo kami ngayong gabi. Alam nyo po medyo kabado kami dahil alam natin wala tayong masyadong kakampi na mga local officials (Wow, you’re one of a kind. You know, you surprised us tonight. You know we’re a bit nervous tonight because we know we don’t have many local officials allies),” she said.
“Pero pinatunayan ninyo ngayong gabi kung nasaan talaga yung tunay na kapangyarihan (But you proved tonight where the true power lies),” Robredo added.