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MANILA—Presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo is not bothered by the reported support of 11 Camarines Sur mayors for her rival Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

In an interview aired on ANC Rundown Thursday, Robredo said her victory in the vice presidential race in 2016 shows she has the backing of her hometown Camarines Sur and the Bicol region.

“Noong 2016, when I was running for VP, halos walang malaking pulitiko dito sa Bicol region na nag-throw ng support for me. And I was expecting that. There were 5 of us Bicolanos out of 6 candidates, pero I still got almost 70% of the Bicolano votes,” she said.

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For the 2016 VP race, Robredo was up against former senators Chiz Escudero, Gringo Honasan, Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes and Marcos.

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Only Marcos had no roots in the Bicol region.

“Ngayong laban na ’to, ako lang ang Bicolano. And pati ’yung suporta ng mga Bicolano now is unlike noong 2016. Noong 2016, mas mahiyain pa ang mga tao to go out. Pero now, ’yung galaw talaga, Mike, nanggagaling sa mga ordinaryong mamamayan and they have been doing so much,” she said.

Robredo recently earned the backing of respected Cabinet members and senior officials of former President Fidel V. Ramos, which she considers “humbling.”

Various local officials have also endorsed her candidacy publicly, from Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City, Mayor Oscar Moreno of Cagayan de Oro City, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, among others.

“I am really grateful for the trust and support na ipinapahayag sa atin from local officials, public servants, different sectors. Actually, ’yung from local officials, Mike, pleasant surprise ’yun para sa akin. I know for a fact kung ano ’yung political environment sa atin now. And ako maiintindihan ko kung marami ang hindi willing to go out publicly to support us. Pero ako nagulat ako na there are actually big local politicians, very respected ones who have been very public of their support for us so I’m very, very grateful,” she said.

Robredo shared she was ready to face a “lonely fight” to the presidency.

“Nahanda ko na sarili ko. In fact, when I was inviting Sen. Kiko to be my runningmate, ’yun ’yung sinabi ko sa kanya. Sabi ko, Sen. Kiko this is a fight that we need to do pero ihanda natin sarili natin na magiging malungkot ito because of the circumstances. So talagang pleasant surprise na maraming sumasama,” she explained.

Previously criticized for her supposed “indecision” to run for the presidency, Robredo had tried to unite opposition forces under one candidate.

But negotiations fell through and instead of the opposition uniting, forces supporting the administration united and fielded a single ticket in Marcos and running mate VP bet Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

“I worked very hard to try to unify all the other contenders not allied with the administration. And when the talks collapsed, s’yempre very frustrating for me. Pero when I finally threw my hat into the ring, sabi ko, hindi ko siguro na-unify ’yung mga contenders but I was also able to unify many different groups who were coming from many different affiliations, paniniwala, political leanings. And ako malaking bagay na ’yun,” she said.

The Marcos camp, in a press release Wednesday, claimed 11 CamSur mayors back the candidacy of Marcos Jr.

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