By Raymund F. Antonio
Undaunted by the start of the 2016 vice presidential vote recount yesterday, Vice President Leni G. Robredo said she has nothing to fear since the opening of the ballots is a “fight for truth.”
“This is the time of fear – fear of what is going to happen next – pero manalig tayo. Gawin lang iyong dati nating ginagawa. Maraming limitasyon pero sa liit ng mundo natin ngayon, kailangan tayo,” Robredo said in a brief speech to supporters at St. Scholastica’s Chapel in Malate, Manila where she attended mass before the recount.
“Kailangan tayo para tayo iyong magbigay ng liwanag, kasi kung tayo mismo iyong umayaw, lalong didilin iyong paligid.
And so many people are looking up to us, for us to fight for them. Kaya patuloy lang tayo,” she added.
Robredo, a former Camarines Sur representative, said the mass was meant to ask for “strength, guidance, and wisdom” as the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, started the revision proceedings in Ermita, Manila.
Robredo, accompanied by her legal team and supporters, attended mass officiated by Fr. Ted Gonzales, including Fr. Robert Reyes and other priests, two hours before the start of the recount. Also present were sisters from the Order of St. Benedict.
The priests blessed Robredo’s legal counsels led by veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal and his protege, Bernadette Sardillo, who each had a role in the mass.
The Vice President then addressed supporters, who were clad in white, after the mass. “To all our supporters and our friends who are here today, pinapasabi din ng ating lawyers na wala tayong dapat ikatakot. Wala tayong dapat ikatakot kasi katotohanan iyong ating pinaglalaban,” the former housing chief said.
