MANILA — The spokesperson of Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday said that growing support for tandems pairing Robredo with other vice-presidential candidates shows the reality of Philippine politics and elections.

“Realidad naman talaga ng kampanya sa Pilipinas na hindi talaga tayo bumoboto ng tandem… Ang botante, malayang pumili ng hiwalay na bise presidente at presidente, talagang nangyayari ‘yan tuwing eleksyon,” Robredo spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said in an interview with ABS-CBN TeleRadyo.

(That is the reality of campaigning in the Philippines. We don’t really vote straight tandems. Voters are free to choose their vice president and president from different parties. That really happens during elections.)

Gutierrez said that while their camp welcomes any support for the Vice President’s presidential bid, they will still campaign for her chosen running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

“Ang posisyon ng campaign ay Leni-Kiko 'di ba? All the way hanggang sa dulo, 'yun ang kinikilos namin, 'yun ang kinakampanya ni VP Leni, 'yan ang kanyang piniling partner at 'yan ang ipaglalaban namin hanggang sa kadulo-duluhan,” he said.

(Our campaign’s position is Leni-Kiko. All the way until the end, we will campaign for that tandem. VP Leni will campaign for that tandem because she chose him to be her partner. We will fight for that tandem until the end.)

“So long as merong declaration of support for one of the candidates, hindi namin minamasama. Nagpapasalamat kami doon sa taong nag-eendorso, pero kinaklaro namin lagi. Kung meron kayong tandem na tinutulak na hindi Leni-Kiko, sa inyo 'yan. Pero kung susuporta kayo sa isa sa mga kandidato namin, di salamat,” Gutierrez added.

(So long as there’s a declaration of support for one of the candidates, we don’t take it in a bad way. We are even thankful to those who support us, but we make it clear to them. If you are pushing for another tandem other than Leni-Kiko, that is up to you. But if you support one of our candidates, thank you.)

Gutierrez was reacting to the growing support for the “RoSa” tandem of Robredo and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Local officials, particularly in Mindanao, have endorsed the said tandem. On Sunday, 30 local candidates in Misamis Oriental, led by gubernatorial candidate Rep. Juliette Uy, showed support for “RoSa.”

Other local officials backing the tandem include Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco, and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

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Other than the “Rosa” tandem, some have also pushed for a “LeTi” tandem of Robredo and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, among them vice-presidential bet Rizalito David and Partido Reporma president Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.

Gutierrez added that more than support from parties, the Robredo campaign is banking on individual endorsements and commitments from local officials.

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