Mar confident Leni will support 'tuwid na daan'

MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II is optimistic that Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo will support his advocacy to continue the Aquino administration’s straight path or ‘tuwid na daan’ policy.

Roxas, who is now convincing Robredo to be his running mate, noted that the lawmaker originally did not want to enter politics but eventually changed her mind because of her desire to serve.

"She did not intend to join politics but when she saw that she is needed by the people of Naga, she stepped up. She did not turn her back on them and she did not avoid the responsibility and the opportunity to serve our people,” he said in a statement.

"I am sure Cong. Leni is with us as we push for the straight path,” he added.

Roxas and Robredo were in Naga to attend the Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, a popular religious event celebrated every third Saturday of September.

Speaking to reporters, Robredo revealed that Roxas formally asked her to become his vice president last Thursday, a day after Sen. Grace Poe declared her intention to run for president.

The LP-led administration coalition tried to woo Poe to run as their vice president but the senator rejected the offer.

Robredo said she is still undecided on the matter because she still has reservations about seeking higher office.

“From the very start, I have been very vocal about the reasons why I do not want to run. They are not pressuring me to arrive at a decision right away,” the lawmaker told journalists in a chance interview in Naga.

“I think coming up with a decision is not something cerebral. If it were cerebral, the answer would be no. I told my children we would pray for it,” she added.

Robredo admitted feeling pressured because running for higher office is not something she had planned for.

“I was hoping before that Sen. Grace Poe will run as vice president. I did not prepare for this. Fortunately, the party understands and the party understands my reservations,” she said.

Robredo said the administration coalition is aware that her primary consideration in coming up with a decision is the opinion of her daughters.

She admitted asking her husband, the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, for a sign so she would know what to do. Robredo’s husband died in a crash in off Masbate in 2012.

“I told him I would not be in this situation had he not left me too soon. I also asked him what he wants me to do. I asked for a clear sign,” the lawmaker said in Filipino.

“Hopefully in the coming days, there will be signs,” she added.

When asked if her daughters understand the situation, Robredo said: “No. That’s why I told them the decision is beyond us already. If you use your mind, it will really be hard.”

“But we understand that we have responsibilities bigger than ourselves and we cannot be selfish all the time,” she added.

When asked if she is ready to face Sen. Francis Escudero, Poe’s running mate, Robredo replied: “Not yet. It was only yesterday when the matter was discussed seriously.”