Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo said farmers endure the most sacrifices and are often on the receiving end of empty promises during elections, in her campaign rally in San Jose, Nueva Ecija on Tuesday.
“Dito sa Nueva Ecija, napakaraming mga magsasaka. At ‘yung mga magsasaka grabe ‘yung sakripisyo na tinitiis ngayon. At lahat kaming kandidato, ang sasabihin namin dahil kampanya, aasikasuhin namin ‘yung mga magsasaka. Papahalagahan namin ‘yung mga magsasaka. Pero dapat hindi lang tayo basta-basta naniniwala (There are a lot of farmers in Nueva Ecija and they sacrifice a lot. Politicians often make promises in their campaign,” she said.
“Ako po mahabang panahon hindi pa po ako politiko, abogado ako para sa mga magsasaka. Abogado tayo para sa mga mangingisda. Halos buong buhay natin, ginugol natin sa mga communities at alam niyo ‘yan dahil kapag tinignan niyo po ‘yung aming mga record, kumpleto kami ng resibo (I am not a politician. I am a lawyer for farmers and for fisherfolks. I’ve spent almost all my life helping communities. You can see these in our track record,” Robredo said.
As Vice President, Robredo’s Angat Buhay Program also helped various farming communities all over the country, including Nueva Ecija’s Palay and Kalamansi Farmers Agriculture Cooperative in Cabanatuan.
At the Anehan People’s Rally in Cabanatuan, 50,000 Novo Ecijanos lit up the Old Provincial Capitol Oval for Robredo.
In her speech, Robredo said she did not expect a huge turnout for the event.
Robredo said she had apprehensions regarding the Nueva Ecija event. She also said she wanted to hold a sortie on a smaller venue, at first.
But the huge turnout really surprised her, Robredo said.
“Pero alam niyo po, nagugulat ako sa inyo kasi naaalala ko po ‘yung 2016 elections. Naalala niyo ba ‘yung 2016 elections?” Robredo said.
Robredo lost in Nueva Ecija in the 2016 vice presidential elections by over 300,000 votes.
The 50,000-strong crowd reassured Robredo that this time around, Robredo will have Nueva Ecija’s vote.
