The Liberal Party (LP) is aggressively expanding its grassroots network across the Philippines, operating under the assumption that former Vice President and current Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo will make another bid for the presidency in 2028—even though she has consistently stated she has no intentions of doing so.
LP President and former Quezon Province Representative Erin Tañada clarified that the party is deliberately moving forward with its organizational strategies while waiting for Robredo to make a definitive call.
“We are organizing our chapters in the different provinces and municipalities, and we look at it from the point of view as organizing as if she is running,” Tañada explained.
Should Robredo choose to sit out the race entirely, Tañada noted that the political machinery being built will not go to waste, as the party intends to back whoever emerges as the consensus choice of the wider opposition.
“Now, if she doesn’t run, then whoever will be the candidate of the coalition, because there has been agreement anyway that it has to be only one, then the Liberal Party will support that candidate,” he said.
While acknowledging Robredo’s firm public rejections of another national campaign, Tañada revealed that party leadership and allies still harbor hope that she will change her mind.
“We continue to pray, as Senator Kiko has mentioned and Congressperson Leila de Lima has mentioned, that she reconsiders and hopefully run in 2028,” he said.
Tañada observed that Robredo’s current political leverage is noticeably stronger than it was during the initial stages of her 2022 campaign, pointing to her resilient survey numbers and her active governance in Naga City.
“If you look at her (survey) numbers, compared to her numbers in 2021, her numbers are much, much better now if she does decide to run,” he said.
“Because what happens now if Leni’s numbers continue to improve? She must be doing something right,” he added.
“She has not declared. She has kept quiet. When she’s asked again, she denies, but the numbers continue to go up,” he noted.
He further attributed this organic rise in public approval to her visibility and track record as a local chief executive, which mirrors her previous national initiatives.
“I think she is in a better place in terms of awareness, in terms of people seeing what she’s able to do in Naga, which is a continuing project that she has started… when she was in the Office of the Vice President,” he said.
According to Tañada, the public can expect a much clearer picture of Robredo’s political trajectory between the tail end of 2026 and the opening months of 2027.
“When we reach the last quarter or first quarter, which would be more or less the area that people say should be the timeline,” Tañada explained.
Until that window arrives, the LP remains committed to preparing the field for a potential run, treating her candidacy as an active possibility.
“We are organizing as if she is running,” Tañada reiterated.