Leni on Bongbong's intention to run in 2022 polls: 'Kung matatalo ka, hindi mo tatanggapin, huwag ka nang tumakbo'

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday gave a word of advice to former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. who recently announced his intention to run for a national post in the 2022 elections.

"Ako, pagkatapos kasi ng term ko, tapos na 'yung [electoral] protest. Karapatan naman ng kahit sino ang tumakbo pero dapat lahat ng tatakbo tatanggapin 'yung resulta ng eleksyon," Robredo said in an interview on Unang Balita.

"Kasi kung matatalo ka, hindi mo tatanggapin, eh huwag ka nang tumakbo," she added.

Marcos, who also ran for vice president in the 2016 elections, is still contesting Robredo's victory which he claimed was laden with fraud, anomalies, and irregularities.

He claimed that the votes he received had been "reduced, manipulated and altered" to make it appear that he only placed second in the vice presidential race.

The case is still being deliberated by the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Marcos and Robredo's submission of their respective comments on the result of a manual vote recount in three provinces chosen by the former—Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental—was the latest development in the electoral protest.

Robredo defeated Marcos by a margin of 263,473 votes in the 2016 elections. This lead has further widened by more than 15,000 votes after the recent recount.

The son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Marcos is still seeking a review of the said recount results while Robredo wants an immediate dismissal of the case.

'A matter of destiny'

Meanwhile, Robredo did not give a yes or no answer when pressed for her thoughts on running for a national office again: "Ngayon, two and a half years pa, ang dami pang puwedeng mangyari," she said.

She reiterated that the presidency and vice presidency is a matter of destiny.

"Marami lang presumption na tatakbo ako dahil VP ako ngayon pero hindi naman ako nag-ambisyon sa politika. 'Yung sa akin kahit mag-prepare ka nang grabe, kung hindi 'yun para sa 'yo, hindi para sa 'yo," she said.

Further asked if she would be ready to go head-to-head with another Duterte in the 2022 elections, Robredo said it would be the people who would shape the possibilities for the next administration.

"Majority palagi ang magde-decide kung gusto niya 'yung tao, gusto niya ang pamamalakad ngayon, 'yun siguro ang magbubunsod kung Duterte ulit 'yung susunod," she said.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the president's daughter, is being seen as a possible candidate for the presidency in 2022.

Sara, however, had previously said that running for the said post requires a lot of thought and that she might come up with an answer by January 2021. 

President Rodrigo Duterte has assured that he will not seek another term once he steps down from office on June 2022. He also warned his eldest daughter that the presidency could "destroy" her. —KBK, GMA News