[A] Kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng #KaarawanNiJesse ay ang matamis na #TagumpayNiLeni. Maraming maraming salamat po! pic.twitter.com/MaBmsu6DG4
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) May 27, 2016
MANILA – Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo on Friday said she is excited to work with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte after Joint Congress sitting as National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) declared them winners in the 2016 elections.
The neophyte solon, in an interview with local journalists in Naga City, could not hide her excitement after NBOC finished its job tabulating their votes where she edged out her closest rival, Senator Bongbong Marcos, by more than 200,000 votes.
“Obligasyon ko po hindi lang bilang susunod na pangalawang pangulo, pero obligasyon ko po bilang Filipino na ibigay ‘yung 100 percent support ko sa kaniya [Duterte]. Kasi ‘yung kaniya naman pong success, hindi naman para sa kaniya. Ang success niya para sa buong bansa,” Robredo said.
“Naging mahirap po ‘yung eleksyon, naging very divisive. Kinakailangan pong mag-rebuild tayo bilang isang bansa at kailangan po ni President Duterte ‘yung ating tulong lahat,” she added.
Shortly after winning the race for vice president she said she was willing to accept cabinet position if offered by the next president [Duterte].
Robredo said she has not spoken with Duterte specifically about the Cabinet position that will be delegated to her. She opts to wait for her proclamation before paying him a visit.
“Palagay ko po napaka-premature pa na makipagkita dahil hindi pa ako napo-proklama. Hihintayin ko po muna ‘yung aking proklamasyon bago pumunta sa kaniya para magbigay ng aking kortesiya. Ayaw ko naman pong pangunahan,” she explained.
The NBOC finished the official tally of the votes for president and vice president at exactly 7:17 Friday night, just four days of canvassing.
NBOCs official tally shows that Robredo finished with 14,418,817 votes while Marcos had 14,155,344. Robredo led Marcos by only 263,473 votes.
Duterte came up with a huge margin against his rivals in the presidential race, garnering 16,601,997 votes.
Senate canvassing chairman Aquilino Pimentel III said Duterte and Robredo would be proclaimed early next week.