Marcos, Robredo meet, shake hands at Sorsogon event

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. met former Vice President Leni Robredo at the inauguration of the Sorsogon Sports Arena on Thursday.

The two briefly shook hands as Robredo, together with former Senator Bam Aquino, welcomed Marcos at the holding area. 

According to Senate President Francis ''Chiz'' Escudero, she invited Robredo to welcome Marcos on behalf of the Bicol region. Escudero was Sorsogon governor before his return to the Senate in 2022.

Lawyer Barry Gutierrez, who serves as Robredo's spokesperson, said the two would simply be in the same public event.

''VP Leni is there, after all, upon the invitation of SP Escudero, who has been very supportive of Naga,'' Gutierrez told GMA News Online.

In his speech, Marcos emphasized the need for unity to attain effective governance.

''Maaaring may pagkakaiba tayo sa paniniwala at sa opinyon, ngunit alam ko na tayo ay pinagbubuklod ng iisang hangarin—na maiangat ang antas ng pamumuhay ng bawat isang Pilipino,'' Marcos said.

(We could have opposing beliefs and opinions but I know that we are one in our goal to improve the lives of every Filipino.)

''Kaya naman umaasa ako sa suporta ng mga Pilipino. Sa tulong ninyo, alam kong makakamit natin ang mga hangarin natin para sa ikauunlad ng bansa,'' he added.

(That's why I'm hoping for the support of Filipinos. Through your help, we can attain our goals to develop our country.) 

In a separate ambush interview, Escudero said Marcos and Robredo just greeted each other. The Senate leader expressed hope that this could be the start of ''healing'' amid their political differences.

''Wala nagbatian lamang sila, tingin ko rito unang hakbang tungo sa ika nga paghilom ng kung anumang sugat, anumang hindi pagkakaunawaan dahil alalahanin ninyo, anumang debate o pagkakaiba namin ng pananaw ay politikal hindi personal. So mas madaling maghilom 'yun, mas madaling maayos 'yun,'' Escudero said.

(They just greeted each other, I think this is the first step towards healing any wound, any misunderstanding... because remember that our differences were merely political and not personal. This heals easier.)

Meanwhile, Escudero said their presence in the same event was symbolic, recalling his candidacy for vice president in the 2016 vice presidential elections.

''Alalahanin ninyo, naglaban-laban kami noong 2016, kung maalaala niyo for Vice President. Naglaban sila for President noong 2022. Ang nanalo si VP Leni noong 2016 kung maaalala niyo, nanalo naman si Pangulong Marcos noong 2022 bilang Pangulo naman. So kaming tatlo actually, may kasaysayan,'' Escudero said.

(Remember that we all fought for the vice presidency in 2016 and then they (Robredo and Marcos) both ran for president in 2022. VP Leni won in 2016 and President Marcos won in 2022. So the three of us has history.)

''Para sa akin, symbolic 'yun dahil sa sports arena kami nagsama-sama, an odd trio, di ba? At siguro magandang pagpulutan ng aral ng mga pulitiko 'yung mga nangyari, na nangyari pa sa sports coliseum ng Sorsogon,'' he added.

(For me, it's symbolic because we met in a sports arena, an odd trio, right? Maybe we could get lessons here, on what happened here in the sports coliseum in Sorsogon.)

Originally, Robredo was supposed to share the stage with Marcos to watch the synchronized dance performance. However, the former Vice President had to attend another event in Naga City.

''In fact hinintay lamang talaga niya na dumating si Pangulong Marcos bago siya tuluyang tumulak pabalik ng Naga. Wala naman siyang eroplano o chopper. So kotse lang saka tatlong oras 'yun eh,'' Escudero said.

(She just waited for President Marcos to arrive before leaving for Naga. She doesn't have a plane or chopper, it's just a car so it's three hours.)

Robredo defeated Marcos by 263,473 votes in the 2016 vice presidential race. Marcos protested before the Supreme Court, which upheld Robredo's victory in 2020.

The two faced each other again in the 2022 presidential elections where Marcos won with a commanding lead over Robredo.

Robredo will run for Naga City mayor in the 2025 elections. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News