CEBU, Philippines – The appearance of presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo at a rally on Tuesday, April 26, for Cebu bet for governor Ace Durano and his running mate Hilario “Junjun” Davide III has been canceled. 

Cebu Vice Governor Hilario “Junjun” Davide III announced the cancelation of her visit in a statement on Monday evening, April 25.

Davide apologized to Robredo’s Cebuano supporters who were expecting her to appear at the rally after it was publicized that she would be there.

“Sa mga Sugbuanon nga nag suporta ni Vice President Leni Robredo, mangayo kog pasaylo ug pagsabot kaninyo nga dili madayon ang iyang pagbisita karong adlawa aron motambong sa atong A Better Cebu grand rally sa Talisay City,” Davide said.

(To our Cebuano supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo, I apologize and ask for understanding from all of you that her visit will not push through to our “A Better Cebu” grand rally in Talisay City.)

He said the reason was that his partner’s party Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago was supporting another presidential candidate.

“Since the Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago of my partner, gubernatorial aspirant Ace Durano, has decided to support another presidential candidate, it is obvious that he is bound to follow the organization’s endorsement,” Davide said.

The party, formed only in 2021, has not yet announced their presidential bet publicly yet, although they are already supporting Davao Mayor Sara Duterte for vice president.

As early as Saturday, April 23, several social media posts from different supporters and volunteer groups had already posted social media cards announcing Robredo’s visit. 

The rally will continue as scheduled at the St. Scholastica Academy in Talisay City. It would have been Robredo’s third visit to the province.  

Robredo had met with Ace and the Durano family in Danao last Thursday, April 21, before appearing in a mini rally at Danao City Hall in the afternoon.

The meeting fueled rumors of an endorsement, especially after it was announced that Robredo was supposed to come back to Cebu on Tuesday for the rally.

The announcement comes less than a week after her supporters turned up in huge numbers at her grand rally in Mandaue City last Thursday. Organizers estimate at least 150,000 turned up at the Mandaue City event.

Cebu is the most vote-rich province in the Philippines with at least 3.2 million voters.

The endorsement would have been a boost to Robredo’s campaign in Cebu as the front runner Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had already secured the endorsement of dominant Garcia-led party One Cebu.

Davide was the first incumbent Cebu politician to express his support for Robredo’s candidacy as soon as she officially filed to run for president last October 2021. 

So far, only San Remigio town Mayor Mar Martinez and Dumanjug Mayor Gungun Gica have publicly come out to support Robredo in Cebu.

Rappler has reached out to the Durano camp for a comment, but has not yet received a response as of this writing. – Rappler.com