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‘[Former] VP Leni is accustomed to being a gracious host, especially for visitors to Naga during Peñafrancia. She welcomed VP Sara as a good host,’ says former Robredo spokesperson Barry Gutierrez
Vice President Sara Duterte loves surprises indeed. On Friday, September 20, she shocked political observers as she met with her predecessor, former vice president Leni Robredo, in Naga City, Camarines Sur.
But the visit was not because Duterte was seeking Robredo’s support as she grapples with political turmoil.
“While she was in Naga City for the Peñafrancia Festival, VP Sara Duterte took the opportunity to visit me at my home. Our conversation was personal, not political,” Robredo said in a statement.
This was echoed by Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s former spokesperson, who told Rappler: “Dinalaw ni VP Sara si former VP Leni sa bahay. Personal ang usapan at hindi political.” (VP Sara visited former VP Leni in her residence. The conversation was personal and not political.)
“VP Leni is accustomed to being a gracious host, especially for visitors to Naga during Peñafrancia. She welcomed VP Sara as a good host,” Gutierrez added. The Peñafrancia celebration is Bicol’s version of the Nazareno in Manila. The celebration will end on Saturday, September 21, with the Annual Fluvial Procession.
Duterte’s meeting with Robredo could not have came at a most interesting time.
The Vice President just recently said she’s not friends with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was her running mate under the Uniteam ticket. Marcos and Robredo were the biggest political opponents as they faced each other in two national elections. Robredo won the 2016 vice presidential race, while Marcos won as president two years ago.
Under the current administration, the once-powerful Duterte family is now being implicated in several congressional investigations such as the House of Representatives’ quad committee’s scrutiny of drug-related killings allegedly linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte. The Vice President herself has been having a hard time defending her budget for 2025.
In a statement, Duterte’s camp clarified that the Vice President was just in Naga City to enjoy “her first Peñafrancia Festival.”
“She was invited by a Bicolano friend to attend the centennial anniversary mass of the Canonical Coronation of Our Lady of Peñafrancia on September 20. The same friend also arranged a casual meeting with former Vice President Leni Robredo,” Duterte’s office said. “During her stay in Naga, Vice President Duterte visited several prominent Bicol personalities and heard mass with ordinary Bicolanos.”
It should not be forgotten that while she was vice president, Robredo was vilified, attacked, and had been sidelined under Sara’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte. But Sara herself also attacked Robredo on a number of occasions.
In 2019, Sara Duterte called Robredo a “fake VP” as Marcos Jr. contested the results of the 2016 elections. The Supreme Court later upheld Robredo’s victory. Sara also criticized Robredo when the then-vice president commented about the spike of COVID-19 cases in Davao City at the height of the pandemic, when Sara was still the city mayor. – Rappler.com
