After her campaign sorties in Eastern Visayas, Vice President Leni Robredo has flown to Cagayan de Oro in Northern Mindanao to visit political leaders here and woo voters.
She met with Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Misamis Oriental Rep. Juliette Uy in Cagayan de Oro as well as with Bukidnon Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba separately and her husband Jose Manuel, who is running for Congress to replace the former.
She also met with CDO Mayor Oscar Moreno, who is seeking a gubernatorial seat in Misamis Oriental.
While most local officials in Mindanao are backing Robredo for her presidential bid, they said they have their own choices for the vice presidency.
Rodriguez and Uy wanted Robredo to pair with Davao City and vice presidential bet Sara Duterte.
On the other hand, Moreno and the Acostas were behind Robredo’s running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan.
Rodriguez, who met with Robredo together with other local candidates under his Centrist Democratic Party, said they never talked about his group’s support for another vice presidential aspirant during their hour-long meeting.
“We just talked about our support for her campaign. RoSa (Robredo-Sara) was never discussed for obvious reasons,” he said.
He said he raised two important projects – railway and hydroelectric plants — with Robredo should she win in the 2022 presidential elections.
On late Wednesday night, the Vice President met with Uy, her family, and supporters.
Uy’s husband, Julio, who has joined the congressional race, said “we are not talking about RoSa (Robredo-Sara). This meeting is just a meeting of old friends.”
Robredo is also set to return to breathtaking Bohol on Friday, April 1, as the campaign enters its final month before the crucial May 9 national elections.
Robredo is scheduled to meet with the province’s local officials and supporters who have actively been campaigning for her.
In the afternoon, all roads would lead to the Old Tagbilaran City Airport for the ‘DILAAB: Bohol People’s Rally’. The event’s organizers said it could turn out to be “the biggest event in Bohol.”
They are expecting a lot of participants, volunteers, and supporters to be at the people’s rally for Robredo, running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, and their senatorial ticket.
DILAAB, similar to previous rallies of the Leni-Kiko tandem, will be star-studded. Among the celebrity supporters who will be in attendance on Friday are veteran actress Agot Isidro, hosts and comedians Ogie Diaz and Mama Loi, social media star Macoy Dubs, actor Elijah Canlas, and OPM bands Ben&Ben and Spongecola.
Robredo and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has been actively helping the province of Bohol since she assumed the vice presidency in 2016. Her latest visit was in December 2021, after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette which devastated several areas in Bohol.
The presidential candidate was one of the first people to visit the province after the typhoon hit. Their rushed to Bohol as soon as authorities gave them clearance to fly in.
Robredo was there to assess firsthand the damages the typhoon caused and bring the necessary aid to affected families as part of the OVP’s relief operations.