A month into the May polls, a movement claiming to have more than 100,000 members came out publicly to pair up Vice President Leni Robredo and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for the two highest positions up for grabs in the upcoming elections.
KaLeSa Movement, an organization consisting of members from various grassroot sectors, mostly in Mindanao, came out on Thursday, April 7, to declare support for Robredo and Duterte in their respective election bids.
Leaving out the runningmates of both politicians, KaLeSa said their movement seeks to pair up both lady officials for "genuine unity."
"We are really here to find and seek for genuine unity at naniniwala tayo na nangangailan ng KaLeSa tandem upang masiguro ang pagbubukas ng pinto para sa pagkakaisa (we believe that we need the KaLeSa tandem to ensure the opening of doors for unity)," KaLeSa Movement member Olongapo Councilor Kaye Legazpi said during a press conference.
The movement believes that having leaders from two political parties will be crucial in attaining "genuine unity" and "positive change" for the country.
"Ngayon, sa panahon ng pangangampanya nakikita natin yung mga kumakalat na (Now, in this time of campaigning, we are seeing ) "fake unity" that people or somebody else has been using just for the campaign and yun yung ayaw nating mangyari dahil yung pagkakaisa na kailangan natin ay hindi lang yung galing sa iisang political spectrum, ang kailangan natin ay pagkakaisa mula sa dalawang political spectrum para maiwasan yung hidwaan at polarisasyon ng politika sa ating bansa (that's what we don't want to happen because the unity that we need should not come from a sole political spectrum, we need a unity from two political spectrums to avoid disputes and polarization of politics in our country)," Legazpi said.
Recognizing both candidates' track record as public servants and their initiatives during their term as Vice President and local chief executive, especially during the pandemic, KaLeSa believes that an administration led by Robredo and Duterte will advocate for the rights, welfare, and dignity of Filipinos.
People-led movement
KaLeSa members emphasized that the movement is people-led and it is different from the RoSa movement which is initiated by politicians.
"Basically RoSa is led by politicians or it appears to be and KaLeSa is a people-led movement," Legazpi said.
According to KaLeSa, their members are from the sectors of small businesses, farming and fishing communities, urban poor, and various individuals among others.
Legazpi stressed that while camps have reached out to them to join the movement, they want to maintain their independence "because KaLeSa is not here for the interest of politicians but to advocate for Filipino families."
"We are led by people from different organizations and different individuals but of course may mga lumapit sa'tin from both camps (have reached out) but we will maintain independence dahil ang gusto natin ay yung interes ng mga Pilipino at ang gusto natin masiguro na ang KaLeSa ang magli-lead ay Pilipinong nasa laylayan at nasa iba't ibang sector (because we want to advocate the interest of the Filipinos and we want to ensure that KaLeSa will lead Filipinos from the fringes of society and various sectors)," Legazpi said.
The Olongapo councilor further pointed out that KaLeSa publicly coming out at this time of the campaign season is "not scripted" and "not planned."
'We don't want it to be planned—this is not scripted, this is not planned—it's just the heart of the people to be united, it's just the interest of various organizations, sectors, individuals to be part of this movement because we see this as time na rin for us to be able to have this organization and the interest of the people to be filled with much confidence," Legazpi said.
Silent majority
KaLeSa members believe that formally launching the movement publicly will boost the confidence of "silent supporters," especially from the side of Robredo supporters, to come out and declare their support.
Aksyon ng Magsasaka's Mike Abas, also a member of KaLeSa, believes that KaLeSa Movement "is the right timing" as "silent supporters" in Mindanao, particularly in Region 12 and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), are slowly gaining the courage to also campaign for Robredo.
"Yung mga supporters ni Ma'am Leni ay tahimik lang (Supporters of Ma'am Leni are silent) but definitely, with this KaLeSa, lalabas 'yan sila at may kasama na (they will come out now that there is a support) from the national," Abas said.
Legazpi, on the other hand, believes that those supporting the Robredo-Duterte pairing are the silent majority.
"Right now, we believe that KaLeSa is the silent majority so we encourage everyone to be part of this movement," Legazpi said.
More support from local officials
Legazpi bared that more local government unit (LGU) officials are expected to come out in the coming weeks to join the movement.
"I think marami ring LGU officials na gustong sumuporta sa KaLeSa (there are many LGU officials want to support KaLeSa) and they will be coming out around third week of April," she said.
KaLeSa claims that they have a stronghold in Central Luzon and Mindanao and "will grow more in the next few days."
No splitting of Leni-Kiko tandem
Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, the runningmate of Robredo, urged supporters to not be deceived by those behind the effort to divide their tandem.
Before an estimated 19,000 supporters at the San Jose Municipal Plaza on Thursday, Pangilinan addressed the issue pairing up Robredo and Duterte, reiterating that there might be a bad motive behind the move.
"Di tayo nakakatiyak kung mayroon gustong sumingit na baka iba ang balak na maging pangulo. Protektahan natin at tiyakin na solid ang Leni-Kiko tandem dito sa Occidental Mindoro (We are not sure if there are those who want to be the president. We must protect the solid Leni-Kiko tandem here in Occidental Mindoro),” the senator said.
Robredo, on the other hand, has been vocal in maintaining her pairing with Pangilinan “from the very start until now, until the very end.”