“I’m for Leni not for Mar”

Leni Robredo is running for Vice-President. Her getting elected is only half the battle. A Vice-President is nothing without a supportive President. So the question we need to ask is simple. Who will support Leni the most? Who will make her shine?

Is it VP Binay? Unlikely.

Considering the shady company that VP Binay keeps and the incorruptible nature of Leni, chances are high that she’ll end up a spare tire.

Is it Senator Poe? Again, unlikely.

First, Leni opposes a presidency of convenience:

“Palagay ko hindi natin deserve and isang presidente na, at one point in her life, tinalikuran tayo.”

Second, a Poe Presidency places Chiz Escudero, Bongbong Marcos, and Danding Cojuangco in the corridors of power. Leni’s place in such a setup would be far from ideal.

Is it Mayor Duterte? Definitely not.

First, Leni Robredo is a human rights lawyer. Mayor Duterte is a human rights violator.

Second, Leni has expressed disdain in supporting strongman rule. Early in the campaign, in response to authoritarian rule in Davao as being necessary to curb crime, she bravely voiced out that:

“We achieved the same results in Naga… ‘yung peace and order, ‘yung discipline among the people… we achieved the same things without that kind of attitude [of strongman rule]. I don’t subscribe to that kind of leadership”

When Mayor Duterte heard this, his reaction was simple:

“Eh di patas lang kami. She doesn’t like me. I don’t like her.”

In what is turning out to be typical Duterte behavior, he has since backtracked on the statement. This is probably after assessing Leni’s meteoric rise in the surveys. Now his position is that he would make Leni an “Assistant President.”

Third, can we really expect a Robredo law-abiding vice-presidency to shine in the midst of a bloodthirsty, womanizing autocrat who will break the rules when it suits him?

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We could stop there and say that, by process of elimination, it has to be Mar. But we won’t because this is not the end of the story.

The most convincing reason for a Leni supporter to support Mar as President is clear for everyone to see: Leni herself chose Mar. The second most convincing reason, closely related to the first: Leni’s daughters chose Mar. The third most convincing reason? They have a concrete plan to make this country better. Not promises, pulled out of the air to please the listener, but a believable plan to make these things happen.

What does this all tell us?

If Leni believes that her best chance at serving the country is with a Mar presidency, why deny her?

Let’s not make her win just so she can stumble.

Let’s make her win in an environment that does her and the country the most good: a Roxas presidency.

Besides the reasons above, this is the only scenario which provides a fighting chance for Leni Robredo to become President in 2022.

Men and women smarter than us have, more eloquently, expressed the same opinion: