COTABATO CITY — Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, March 16, promised to make Mindanao a priority should she win in the May 9 polls, brandishing her “resibo (receipt)” of the priority projects she brought to the region in the past six years.

Addressing the crowd that gathered for the People's Rally here at the Cotabato State University Oval despite the blazing heat, Robredo said that the bulk of the development projects of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) are in Mindanao, especially in places that needed them the most.

As Vice President, Robredo concentrated her Angat Buhay program, the flagship poverty alleviation program of the OVP, to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

She mentioned livelihood projects in Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

“Pero ang akin lang pong pinapangako sa inyo na kapag ako po naging Pangulo kung ano 'yung sinimulan kong pagpapakita ng pagmamahal at pag-aasikaso sa inyo, lalo na kapag binigyan ako mas malaking mandato (What I am promising to you is if I become President, whatever love and care I started showing you, especially if I’m given a bigger mandate),” she said.

Although there were a lot of gains in the region, Robredo promised that she will listen to the Moro people.

“Walang naiiwan, lahat natutulungan, lalo na sa kinabuhayan...Ang akin pong assurance, kasama niyo ako bawat hakbang. Hindi ko po kayo papabayaan (No one will get left behind, everyone will be helped, especially in livelihood...My assurance is I will be with you in every step. I will not neglect you),” the Vice President added.

More than 3,000 people gathered at the Cotabato State University for the people’s rally, and listened to Robredo under the blazing heat.

READ: BARMM vote is vital to my presidential campaign—Robredo

As in other rallies, Robredo’s supporters in Cotabato brought their handmade placards with their messages for her to read.

The Vice President shared that she has a personal promise to care for BARMM since her late husband’s, ex-Interior secretary Jesse Robredo, advocacy was to bring lasting peace in the region.

“Noong namatay po 'yung asawa ko, hindi niya pa nare-realize 'yung kanyang pangarap para sa inyo. Kaya noong ako po nag-congresswoman pagkatapos niya pong namatay, sinabi ko po sa sarili ko na kahit hindi ko distrito 'yung Bangsamoro, itutuloy ko 'yung mga hindi natapos na pangarap ng aking asawa para sa inyo (When my husband died, he hadn’t realized his dream for you. That’s why when I became congresswoman after he died, I told myself that even if Bangsamoro isn’t my district, I will continue the dreams my husband left),” she said.

Robredo was a co-author of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that established BARMM and designed to address the grievances, sentiments, and demands of the Muslims in the region.

“Mahabang panahon, mahabang panahon ang ginugol po namin, maraming luha, maraming heartbreak, ang mga hearing po noon hanggang umaga. Ipinaglalaban po natin na maipasa ito (We spent a long time, a lot of tears, a lot of heartbreak, the hearings back then were up to morning. We fought to pass this),” she recalled.

While the law did not pass until Robredo won as vice president in the 17th Congress under President Duterte, she said it is an important “first step” in the dream to see peace and prosperity to the Moro people.

She called on the youth in the crowd to remind them that their votes will determine if the next leader can continue the fight.

“Kaya po dapat ang tanong ninyo, dito sa mga nag-aambisyon mag-pangulo, nasaan kayo? Nasaan po kayo, nasaan kayo noong pinaglalaban pa namin ito (That’s why your question to those who want to be president, where were you? Where were you, where were you when we were fighting for this)?,” she stressed.

In 2016 when she was relatively unknown in the field of politics, Robredo recalled she got 220,000 votes in Maguindanao. Now that she has the “receipts” to prove that she was there for them during the pandemic and the many crises, the aspiring president wondered if Maguindanao will bring her to victory win once more.

As the crowd goes, “Kayang-kaya (easy)!,” the presidential candidate assured them she’s ready to sacrifice for the good of the country.