Liberal Party still hoping for a Leni Robredo 2028 presidential bid

MANILA, Philippines – The Liberal Party (LP)  is hoping that former Vice President Leni Robredo will reconsider and run for president in 2028 instead of seeking a local post, party president Erin Tanada said on Tuesday, after a Pulse Asia survey showed she remains among the top contenders for the top post.

Tanada said Robredo is in a “better position” to contest the presidency now than in 2022, when she lost by a landslide to Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and retreated from national politics to focus locally.

Now serving as mayor of Naga City, Robredo has ruled out a national run in the 2028 elections, saying she prefers to seek a second term as city mayor.

“We’ll give Vice President Leni her space… [but] we are hoping that sometime this year, or early next year, that she would change her mind,” Tanada told the Inquirer in a phone call.

“We’re still hoping because it’s still early.”

READ: Leni Robredo rules out national run in 2028

Robredo still retains strong grassroots support despite stepping away from national politics after her failed presidential bid and holding the nation’s second-highest office from 2016 to 2022, when she emerged as a key voice of dissent during that period marked by allegations of widespread human rights abuses.

Tanada said the LP will plan and mobilize ahead of the 2028 polls on the assumption that Robredo, whom he views as the “strongest candidate,” will run for president.

“The direction that the party leadership gave to the different chapters is to organize as if she’s running,” he said. 

A Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the office of Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri showed Robredo trailing Vice President Sara Duterte by eight points, with 51% of Filipinos saying they would vote for the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, compared with 43% for Robredo.

“If you look at the results now, she’s doing much, much better,” Tanada said. 

Vice President Duterte had earlier announced her plan to run for president in 2028, remaining a top contender for the post despite facing an impeachment case.

Tanada said the LP has yet to begin searching for a standard-bearer, noting that any process should be coordinated with an “opposition coalition” preparing for the elections. 

“People are focused on the impeachment first,” he said.

Robredo had recommended Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan as a potential presidential candidate, according to Tanada, but Pangilinan “has not shown interest.”

On Monday, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, an LP member, said he is urging former Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II to run for president. 

“We need to look and study the numbers [to know] who is the most viable candidate to campaign for 2028,” Tanada said. /gsg