Since Vice President Leni Robredo is preparing to run for governor of Camarines Sur in 2022, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said Wednesday he and his Magdalo group had decided to convey to the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition that he was interested in running for President.
But Robredo’s spokesman said there was no truth to the claim she was preparing to run for a gubernatorial post.
Her spokesman Barry Gutierrez, in a statement, said: “This is not a time for politicking, but for working for the people’s welfare. She remains open to all options, including a possible candidacy for President, and at the appropriate time, she will personally convey her decision on this matter.”
According to Trillanes, they decided to tell the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition to change his status from being an alternate candidate to Robredo to being a principal candidate for President to vie for the new party’s nomination.
“This move is necessary for my name to be included in 1SAMBAYAN’s selection process,” said Trillanes.
But he stressed that if Robredo would decide to run for President before 1SAMBAYAN picked its nominees in July, he would wholeheartedly step back and withdraw his own candidacy in her favor.
He said: “But until then, we would work on the assumption that VP Leni would run for Governor of Camsur and, thus, we could now start our own preparations focusing on the development of policy prescriptions to solve the different problems of our country, particularly on pandemic response; economic recovery and poverty alleviation; peace and order/security sector reforms; anti-corruption/governance reforms; universal healthcare; foreign policy (including WPS), etc.”
On Monday, former House majority leader Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya Jr. promised to support Robredo if she ever decides to run for governor of their home province Camarines Sur. In a statement, Andaya said he has had “initial talks” with Robredo where it was said that the Vice President would run for governor in the May 2022 elections “and that will never change.”
“Tuloy po tayo sa pagtakbo bilang Congressman. At meron po tayong mas mataas na tawag. Pero ang pangako ko si Governor Leni, ikakampanya ko siya sa probinsya nang walang gastos at hindi ko siya kasama,” he said in a radio interview over DWOS 103.9 BOOM FM Naga.
A native of Naga City, Robredo is the current chairman of the Liberal Party and is being groomed by some as the opposition’s standard-bearer in next year’s general elections.
She is also the widow of former Interior secretary and six-term Naga mayor Jesse Robredo, who died in a plane crash on August 18, 2012.
However, Andaya said he will leave the decision to Robredo on whether she will take the responsibility of serving her fellow Bicolanos or take a higher office such as the presidency.
But if the Vice President decides to run in her home province, Andaya vowed to give his “all-out and unconditional support” to her candidacy.
“May isa akong salita, kapag sinabi ko na, hindi ko na pwedeng bawiin pa,” the former lawmaker added.