Robredo open to running for president but prefers local office

This file photo shows Vice President Leni Robredo presenting the proposed budget of her office to the Senate. (Photo from a video from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Robredo is open to the possibility of her running for president in the 2022 elections, but she prefers to run for local office.

“If I run for president, I need to be really ready — ready not only for the job but for the fight, and that’s where the problem is,”  she said in Filipino in an interview with GMA News in Naga City, Camarines Sur, when asked for a reaction to calls for her to run for the highest government post.

“As in all my other elections, I’m open to all possibilities. I’m okay with everything — with various positions,” she added.

Later on, she said that she would be much “happier” in local office where she would have “direct contact” with people.

“So very, very honestly, if I had a choice, I would prefer a local position,” she said.

Asked when she would announce her decision, she said the earliest would be by September — a month before the filing of the certificate of candidacies for the 2022 national and local elections.

“As of now, I’m open to anything. I don’t want to quarrel with anyone. But for me, wherever I am needed, that”s where I’ll be,” she said.

Later she said: “And running for president is still possible.”

Robredo’s name has been floated lately as one of the Liberal Party’s choices to be the standard-bearer for the 2022 polls.

Robredo’s supporters also launched a signature campaign called “I am ready for Leni,” which has so far garnered thousands of signatures.

But Robredo’s spokesman, Barry Gutierrez, and she herself said that her focus at the moment was the Covid-19 response.

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