Vice President Leni Robredo gained praise from celebrities and netizens for her impressive and strong showing during the CNN presidential debate on Sunday held at the Quadricentennial Pavilion of the University of Sto. Tomas.
On Twitter, celebrities and netizens alike agreed that Robredo was the most prepared among the other presidential bets who attended the debate.
“Great job at the Presidential Debate, Ma’am Leni! That’s MY PRESIDENT!!!” Megastar Sharon Cuneta, wife of Robredo’s running mate Senator Kiko Pangilinan, said in a Facebook post.
“Kahit si @glocdash9 mahihirapan sabihin sa given time lahat ng itunulong ni VP @lenirobredo sa pandemic. Kulang na kulang ang oras para masabi yung sobrang daming nagawa,” said stand-up comedian Red Ollero (@comedybyred)
“Kung gaano siya kabilis magsalita, ganon din siya kabilis umaksyon.” said actor/singer Kerwin King (@imkerwinking)
They were also impressed by Robredo’s clear and precise answers on various issues, showing her readiness to lead the country as its next leader.
“Malinaw ang resulta. VP Leni is the best and most qualified presidential candidate,” @bluebendystraw tweeted.
“Wala man buckle or hindi man nagstutter si VP Leni sa pagsagot. She came prepared and unbothered! Chill kung chill. Barda kung barda. Patol kung patol sa mga tanong. Ito ang dapat mamuno sa Pilipinas!” @rdny_light said.
“Grabe nakakaiyak si VP. The servant-leader we all need, deserve, and have been praying for. TANGA NA LANG NATIN GUYS IF WE LET HER SLIP AWAY,” said Tin Gamboa (@suzy899).
“Dito palang, sigurado sigurado na ko kung sino ang gusto ko kong maging pangulo,” tweeted user @_toughkuki.
Ahead of the debate, several celebrities shared a photo of Robredo’s arrival at the University of Sto. Tomas wished her good luck, including actor Edu Manzano, actress Cherry Pie Picache, and singers Bituin Escalante and Sam Concepcion.
“Is this a Presidential look or is this a Presidential look?” tweeted Manzano.
“VP Leni looks Presidential. Wow,” singer Sam Concepcion tweeted
“That’s my President!!!,” Picache commented.
During the debate, Robredo enumerated her programs during the pandemic, like free test kits, free dormitories, shuttle rides and PPE sets for frontliners, community learning hubs, job-hunting platforms, free teleconsult services, and drive-thru vaccination, among others.
Actresses Agot Isidro and Nikki Valdez, for their part, backed up Robredo’s claim by posting receipts of the Vice President’s programs during the pandemic.
“RESIBO ng mga nagawa ni @lenirobredo noong pandemya,” Valdez tweeted.
When it comes to corruption, Robredo mentioned that the Office of the Vice President has obtained the highest rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for the past three straight years.
“Nagpapakita na ang resibo nandiyan. Talagang ayaw namin sa korapsyon,” she said.
The Vice President is also committed to being a hands-on president, especially during times of crisis, as it shows leadership.
“Ako bilang presidente, in every crisis, ako mismo ang mangunguna. Nakita natin during the pandemic na kailangan natin ng isang pangulo na nagli-lead sa front,” she said.
“Yung number 1 ingredient ng leadership aside from character is you show up in the most difficult times. Kapag hindi ka nagshow up in the most difficult times, hindi ka leader,” she added.
As for infrastructure, Robredo said she will focus on infrastructure development in the countryside to boost rural development and pour money into programs that will benefit commuters and bikers.
“Pag tiningnan kasi natin ‘yung datos, kakaunting percentage lang ng tao ang may sasakyan. Karamihan walang sasakyan at nakikibaka sa mass transportation,” said Robredo.
The hashtags #IpanaloNa10To and #10RobredoPresident peaked at No. 2 and No. 4 trending topics worldwide, respectively, during the debate.
As of this writing, #IpanaloNa10To was the No. 3 worldwide trending topic with more than 166,000 tweets while #VPLeni was No. 7 with more than 49,000 tweets.