Vice President Leni Robredo admitted that she was surprised by the endorsement of former House Speaker and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, a known critic of hers, but maintained that there was “no arrangement” in the alliance.

“I would have to assure everyone that there is no arrangement at all, that it was not transactional at all. In fairness to– not just the former Speaker but also the Governor, wala talagang hiningi na kahit ano (nothing was demanded),” she told Maria Ressa for Rappler’s “We Decide” series.

The Vice President was referring to Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib, who was initially the one who reached out to her for an endorsement.

She recalled receiving the call from their advance team when she was traveling to Davao del Sur and she was asked if she can do a “side trip” to Davao del Norte because both Jubahib and Alvarez wanted to endorse her.

While she has discussed a lot of things with Alvarez in the past, there was never any mention of him shifting allegiances, so it was a surprise to Robredo that he wanted to support her presidential bid.

“Pero when we were told that they would be announcing on the day that they announced, sobrang nagulat ako. Parang ilang beses ko pang tinanong na, sigurado ba kayo? Sigurado ba kayo (I was very shocked. I asked countless of times, are you sure? Are you sure)?,” she said.

READ: Robredo's presidency bid backed by ex-Speaker Alvarez, Partido Reporma

The aspiring president particularly values the help she got from Alvarez because it was not transactional, and knowing that it is in Davao Region where her survey numbers are the “worst.”

“So, wala siyang pag-uusap (there was no talk). I mean, wala siyang pag-uusap (there was no talk) at all na ganito 'yung kailangan o hihingi ng puwesto, walang ganoon (that this is what we need or will ask for a position, there’s nothing like that) . . . So, to get the support of local officials of that stature in the region, ang laking tulong niya sa kampanya (it’s a big help to the campaign),” she said.

“And not only that, when they made public their support they were getting a lot of expressions of support also from many other local officials,” Robredo added.

The Vice President also said the “good thing” about the endorsement was that “a lot of people are skeptical about it.”

Alvarez was a known critic of Robredo, to whom he apologized during the press conference where he announced his endorsement.

READ: 'I apologize, Ma'am': Alvarez apologizes to Robredo over past criticisms

He said he was merely being a good ally to the President, who Robredo butted heads with in the past six years.

His endorsement was a big boost to the campaign, allowing the presidential candidate to hold a people’s rally in Davao del Norte, Alvarez’s bailiwick, which would have been impossible under normal circumstances.

Alvarez’s recently announced that local officials of his party Partido Reporma in Cebu also decided to support Robredo.

The former House Speaker shifted his support from Senator Panfilo Lacson to Robredo because of the latter’s better chance of winning the elections based on poll results.