NAGA CITY, Philippines — As the new president is about to be proclaimed, the outgoing Vice President and Presidential candidate Leni Robredo asked supporters to accept the May 9 Election final results. However, she appealed to use their grief at the same time to fuel their fight for the change they wanted to see in the country.
Robredo and her supporters in Naga City held thanksgiving Mass at Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral, the day after the elections. Many have expressed their sorrow and disappointment in the emerging election results in which more than 31 million people voted for Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to become the 17th president of the country.
In a speech, Robredo thanked her supporters for joining the 7 month-long pink movement, which ignited large rallies and volunteerism. She also assured supporters that they would look into possible irregularities in the vote-counting and tallying. However, she asked them to move forward and convey their grief to have a more meaningful change in the country, as the majority seemed to have already spoken.
“Maybe my only wish now is that, while we are grieving, while some of us still can’t believe the election result, whatever the final results may be, accept it. Accept it because this is where we will tighten our collective force.”
Vice President Leni Robredo
Robredo admitted that she joined her supporters in mourning the election defeat, but she believed that they can recover easily as one of the most disheartening tragedies that her family and Nagueños had to overcome was the death of her husband, Jesse Robredo. The former Naga City Mayor died from a plane crash back in 2012.
“There is a bigger fight. Our fight does not end with these elections. Many eyes have been opened. Many spirits were awakened. The fight goes on. This fight is not just a fight for the elections, but a battle for us to all be part of our country’s good kind of governance.” Robredo said.
Robredo stressed that many things need to be fixed even in Naga City alone. She urged everyone to fight against vote-buying and choose leaders that will work for the interest of the majority, regardless of social status.
She further emphasized that they have achieved a lot in this election. Many things happened for the first time, such as large campaign rallies that showed many people were willing to unite to bring goodness to society.
The outgoing VP added that she finds one silver lining in her electoral loss, she can now have more time in Naga City, where she is loved by many Nagueños his husband Jesse served for many years.
Robredo hoped that her supporters would not regret joining her campaign as she believed that they did everything to win the election.
“I hope you would not lose heart; I hope you would not get tired. What we are fighting for does not end today; we will continue fighting as long as it is for the good.”
Vice President Leni Robredo
On VP Robredo’s recent Facebook live, she showed numerous gifts from her supporters during her campaign. She plans to build a pink museum where unique gifts showcasing the culture and creativity of Filipinos will be placed. Meanwhile, some gifts will be shared with ‘Kakampinks’ for souvenirs.
Many of her supporters were comforted as Robredo seemed unbothered despite her election defeat. A message for ‘Kakampinks’ that everything will be fine and their fight for good governance will continue.