Senator Kiko Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, is Leni Robredo’s running mate, three sources confirm with Rappler’s Mara Cepeda.

Pangilinan was supposed to file his candidacy for reelection as senator on Wednesday, October 6, but rescheduled his filing. 

Robredo hasn’t given up on uniting the opposition, Cepeda notes, so it’s possible that Pangilinan can return to being a Senate reelectionist later on if another presidential aspirant agrees to slide down and become Robredo’s running mate. 

Read more.

It’s a perfect attendance for the Robredo siblings today. VP Leni Robredo’s youngest daughter Jillian watched her mother’s presidential candidacy launch remotely.

Jillian is finishing her biomolecular science degree at New York University.

Robredo spells out the stakes for 2022 as the pandemic rages on: “Buhay at kinabukasan ng Pilipino ang pinag-uusapan natin ngayon. Pinipilahan ang mga ospital, dumadaing ang mga health workers, at nagugutom ang mga nawalan ng trabaho.”

She also hits corruption in the administration’s pandemic response, citing the multibillion-peso government contracts being investigated as millions of Filipinos continue to suffer. 

The trajectory of the Vice President’s political career so far has proven that Robredo would stand up and fight when called to do so.

A pro-bono human rights lawyer, Robredo was thrust into the national political spotlight after the tragic death in 2012 of her husband, longtime Naga City mayor-turned-interior and local government chief Jesse Robredo. 

Robredo first slayed the well-entrenched Villafuerte political dynasty in the 2013 congressional race in Camarines Sur’s 3rd District. Then, in 2016, Robredo responded to calls for her to run as vice president, besting five other male incumbent senators for the post.

Read more in this report by Mara Cepeda.

Robredo recalled three of her options in her decision on the 2022 elections: running for president, running for governor in her home province of Camarines Sur, or taking a break from politics. 

In the past few weeks, Robredo said she continued to tell others she was ready to give way and support another person’s campaign – or combine forces by taking her in as a candidate or as someone with a position in the next administration, should another presidential hopeful win.

Above all, Robredo stressed the need for unity in moving the country forward. 

“Ang tugon ko, hindi ito tungkol sa posisyon; hindi tayo nakikipag-usap para makipagtransaksyon. Ang pinakamahalaga, magkaisa kami – sa prinsipyo, sa pangarap para sa bansa, at sa landas na data tahakin tungo sa katuparan ng mga ito,” she said.

In her speech, Robredo said it was difficult for her to decide on a presidential run in 2022, and that there was no room for ego or self-interest in discernment. 

“Mabigat na responsibilidad ang pagkapangulo at hindi ito puwedeng base sa ambisyon o sa pag-uudyok ng iba,” she said. 

Robredo said she only considered one question: “Iisa lang dapat ang konsiderasyon: Ano ba ang pinakamabuti para sa bansa natin?”