On her second return to vote-rich Cavite, presidential hopeful Vice President Leni Robredo commanded some 100,000 supporters in what Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla called a “Marcos country.”
But Robredo has other plans, and that’s to return to Cavite for the third time for a “victory party.”
“Sana pagbalik ko dito sa Cavite, victory party na (Hopefully, when we go back to Cavite, it’s for a victory party),” she said during the “Banyuhay” Cavite rally on Sunday, May 1.
Robredo barnstormed the province, holding multi-sectoral assemblies in Alfonso and Naic before attending the Miting de Avance at the City of Dasmariñas Football Field.
The number of attendees was released by local organizers, who said this was according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). This is double the number of attendees of her first rally in General Trias, Cavite on March 4.
That rally was seen by the Robredo campaign and political observers as a turning point in the Vice President’s sorties as some 47,000 kakampinks proceeded to the venue in defiance of Remulla’s claim that he can command 800,000 votes for Robredo’s rival, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
READ: Team Leni-Kiko grand rally in Cavite draws 47,000 crowd to prove #CaviteIsPink
On Sunday, the Vice President was joined on stage by Sherwin and Tintin Abdon, former Marcos supporters and now ardent Robredo campaigners.
Due to the heavy traffic on her March 4 rally, the lone female presidential candidate had to hitch a ride on Sherwin’s motorcycle. The following morning, Tintin said she could barely believe that her husband had given a ride to Robredo.
Today, Sherwin and Tintin are Robredo’s most passionate supporters, visiting factories and construction sites and doing house-to-house campaign for her.
“Alam n'yo, ngayon, sila na yung pinakamasipag na nagkakampanya sa akin. Maraming salamat at alam n'yo kaya ko to kini-kwento sa inyo dahil iyon yung pinakauna kong pakiusap sa inyo ngayon gabi (You know, today, they are my most hardworking campaigners. Thank you very much and you know that I am telling you this because this is my first plea to you tonight),” Robredo said.
READ: Stuck in traffic, VP Leni rides a motorcycle during Cavite sortie
With only six days left in the campaign period, the Vice President asked her supporters to be more patient and to open their hearts to non-supporters.
“Ang pinakasikreto po buksan natin ang ating mga puso kahit iba yung paniniwala. Mahalin pa rin natin sila (The secret is let’s open our hearts even to different beliefs. Let’s still love them),” Robredo added as she reiterated her “radical love” campaign message.
During the rally, Robredo and running mate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan received endorsements from congressmen Alex Advincula and Pidi Barzaga and Dasmariñas City Mayor Jenny Barzaga.
Advincula, who said Robredo was his “classmate” in Congress, described her as simple and intelligent.
“Kaya ko garantiyahan sa inyo (I can guarantee to you),” he stressed.
In Cavite, some 2.3 million votes are up for grabs for the 2022 elections.
Robredo lost to Marcos in Cavite in 2016 by more than 152,000 votes, but today completes her tour of Calabarzon, the most vote-rich region with nine million votes.