CABANATUAN CITY - The Nueva Ecija National High School grounds on Tuesday glittered with lights, as thousands of supporters shouted their support for Vice President Leni Robredo.

“Babawi kami (We’ll make up for it),” they chanted when Robredo shared with them her doubts about filling the venue.

“Sabi ko, ‘Ang laki naman n’yan, baka aalog-alog tayo d’yan’,” Robredo told the crowd. (The venue looks too big. We might not be able to fill it.)

But Novo Ecijanos delivered, with organizers estimating up to 50,000 in attendance.

Robredo in 2016 lost in Nueva Ecija, getting only 22 percent of the province’s over 970,000 votes, according to data gathered by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

She got only 216,204 votes to her rival former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s 541,980 votes.

Supporters trooped to the venue several hours before the gates even opened, spilling into the Freedom Park in front.

“Kabado akong bumalik dito, kasi baka kapareho rin ng 2016,” Robredo said. (I was anxious about going back, fearing a repeat of 2016.)

But despite losing in the province, Robredo made her presence felt in Nueva Ecija in her six years as Vice President through various projects and programs, especially for farmers.

“Kaming mga lingkod bayan, tinulungan man kami o hindi, mandato naming tulungan ang lahat,” Robredo said.

In earlier stops, Robredo laid out to locals how she plans to continue helping the largest producer of rice in Central Luzon.

“We have been calling government to review [the Rice Tarrification Law], suspend, tapos i-review,” Robredo said.

She said that the law serves the opposite of its intent to increase competition among rice producers, because local farmers cannot keep up with competitive prices.

“Hindi naging level 'yung playing field. 'Yung mga farmers natin, hindi sila makapag-compete dahil 'yung cost of production natin, napaka-taas,” she said.

“Hindi puwedeng ganito 'yung policy ng gobyerno kung hindi muna natin ihanda 'yung mga magsasaka natin.”

Vanessa, a 24-year old supporter, held up a placard which read: “Mga anak ng mga magsasakang naghihirap dahil sa rice tarrification law for Leni.”

Her 54-year old father did not join her in the rally, because he has yet to decide who to vote.

Vanessa said her father seemed to be leaning toward Robredo’s rival, from his experiences with Marcos Sr.’s programs for farmers.

“Ine-explain ko sa kanya na hindi porke’t anak ganu’n [din s’ya]. Pinapaliwanag ko ang track record ni Leni,” Vanessa said.

Meanwhile, Robredo said local production of fertilizer should be pursued by the government.

The country should also import only as much as it needs, she added, while rural infrastructure development should be prioritized, including infrastructure requirements.

Crops planted should match the demands of institutional buyers, Robredo went on.

Senator Risa Hontiveros reiterated her plans to double the budget for agriculture.

The recommended budget for the Department of Agriculture in 2022 was P95 billion, but the agency requested an additional P12 billion to address challenges in production and distribution.

Senator Dick Gordon was also at the rally, as well as Rep. Teddy Baguilat, and Atty. Chel Diokno.

Robredo also met with female mushroom farmers in San Antonio, after she met with supporters in San Jose City, Talavera, and Alyaga.

She and her team also went to San Leonardo before heading to Cabanatuan for the people’s rally where regular guests warmed up the already hot crowd.

Nikki Valdez, Jolina Magdangal, and Rivermaya performed, while OPM band Bloomfields sang a version of their song “Ale,” changing the lyrics to “Leni, nasa langit na ba ako?”

OPM folk-pop band Ben&Ben made their second guest appearance at the Nueva Ecija rally, capping the night off as they did in the massively successful Pasig rally on Sunday.

Robredo took pictures and interacted with the crowd while the 9-piece band sang hit songs such as “Maybe the Night” and “Kathang Isip”.

She is set to visit Tarlac on Wednesday.

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