VP Leni camp: Our Vice Presidential bet is Senator Kiko and that will never change

Presidential candidate Leni Robredo’s vice presidential bet is Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, and she will campaign hard to ensure that both of them will be elected by the people in the May 9 national elections.

“Her position on this matter has been very, very clear from the start. Her running mate, ang kanyang ka-tandem, ay si Senator Kiko Pangilinan and she will be pushing for his election as Vice President. She will not be campaigning for any other candidate,” Robredo’s spokesperson, Atty. Barry Gutierrez, said.

Gutierrez was interviewed on CNN Philippines’ The Source on Tuesday, March 22, where veteran journalist Pinky Webb tackled the endorsement of Robredo’s political allies of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for Vice President, instead of Pangilinan.

Gutierrez said that Robredo will always be thankful for the local politicians’ support for her, being the first incumbent public officials to declare their support for her presidential bid.

Gutierrez said that while it is a reality in Philippine politics that voters do not elect tandems, “in so far as the Vice President herself is concerned and her campaign in concerned, our Vice Presidential bet is Senator Kiko and that will never change.” He added that the campaign is doing “everything in our power to ensure that that will be Senator Kiko Pangilinan who takes his oath as Vice President come June 30 of this year.”

In the interview, Webb wanted to know if Gutierrez thinks Robredo and Duterte “could complement each other” should they both win in the elections.

Gutierrez said that the two public servants “have different styles” but both have been “effective public servants”, such that there wouldn’t be a problem with them working together.

“Being Vice President, after all, to a large extent means being able to find a niche where you can be most effective. And definitely, the Vice President has been very open to the idea that whoever gets elected Vice President, if it's Mayor Sara, then its Mayor Sara, she will work with her to find a niche where she will be most effective in contributing her own talents and her own experiences to government,” he said.

While a CNN Philippine art card chose to highlight Gutierrez’s statement that Robredo would be open to working with any elected Vice President, what is important to emphasize is that throughout the interview, Gutierrez said that nothing would change Robredo’s choice for Vice President, and that would always be Pangilinan.

“She would always prefer that she'll be working with the Vice Presidential bet of her choice, and that is really Senator Kiko,” Gutierrez told Webb during the interview. [End]