Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, March 14, thanked Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, an ally of President Duterte and the vice president of the ruling party PDP-Laban in Visayas, for endorsing her presidential bid.
The endorsement is a big boost to Robredo’s candidacy since Evardone is a top honcho of the ruling party and a close ally of the President. In endorsing her, Evardone said that Duterte’s statement of a president who should be a “decisive and compassionate lawyer” is a “virtual endorsement” of his staunchest critic.
Robredo said the endorsements from Evardone and Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando are the kind of support she truly values because they did it despite her not being a frontrunner in presidential preference surveys.
“In difficult times, nakikipaglaban na para sayo (they’re fighting for you),” she stressed during a media briefing in Bulacan.
The aspiring president heaped praises on Evardone.
“Pinapahalagahan natin. Kilala natin kung gaano kahusay na governor din si Governor Ben Evardone. Alam natin kung gaano sya kalapit kay Presidente (We value it. We know how good if a governor is Governor Ben Evardone. We know how close he is to President),” she said.
“Mahalaga para sa akin ‘yung mga ganitong statements kasi parang (These statements are important to me because it’s like) coming from nothing, meron mga tao na naglalakas loob na ipahayag ‘yung kanilang saloobin (there are people who are brave to express their beliefs) despite the fact na hind tayo ‘yung (that we are not the) frontrunner,” she added.
Over the weekend, Duterte said the next president must be “decisive,” “compassionate,” and ”a good judge of person.”
READ: Duterte on next president: 'Compassionate, decisive, good judge of character; preferably a lawyer'
Preferably, the next president should also be a lawyer, he added.
Of the 10 presidential candidates, only Robredo and Jose Montemayor Jr. are lawyers.
“For me and for millions of Filipinos, there is only one decisive and compassionate lawyer among those aspiring to be President and she is VP Leni,” Evardone said in a statement on Monday.
“She’s the only one who can hurdle President Duterte’s standard for his successor,” he added.
The former lawmaker and ally of former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III touted Robredo’s “very consistent” pro-poor programs which have reached Eastern Samar, which has 330,000 registered voters for the May 2022 polls.
Duterte has not yet publicly endorsed a presidential candidate. Even PDP-Laban president Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi has yet to endorse anyone.