DUMAGUETE CITY – Vice-President Leni Robredo took note of her office’s disaster response in her Negros Oriental campaign sortie Wednesday, recalling their relief operations in the province in 2021 after it was badly hit by Typhoon Odette.

“Tuwing may sakuna, una po kaming nandito sa inyo. In fact, pagkatapos po ng Typhoon Odette, nandito ako. Pumunta po ako sa Bais, pumunta po ako sa Manjuyod,” Robredo told a crowd of about 40,000 at RUSI Ballfield in this city.

Bais City and Manjuyod town were the 2 areas hardest hit by Odette when it made landfall in Negros Oriental between December 16 and 17, 2021.

The typhoon left 51 dead, 71 injured, and 26 missing in the province, according to local disaster authorities. Bais and Manjuyod had the highest death tolls, with 12 and 10 fatalities respectively.

Robredo was the first national official who came to Negros Oriental on December 21. She personally gave relief goods to some of the residents of Bais and Manjuyod.

This, she said, was what she called her “resibo” (evidence) of her track record in the province.

Aside from her disaster response, she also highlighted some of her projects in Negros Oriental, among them buildings in a public elementary school in Dumaguete City.

She also took note of southern Zamboanguita town, one of the first beneficiaries of her Angat Buhay anti-poverty program.

“Karamihan sa ginagawa natin, marami ang hindi nakakaalam kasi ang pagtrabaho natin, very very quietly. Pero ngayon sinasabi ko sa inyo dahil ’yon ’yong aking resibo. ’Yon ’yong aking resibo na sa anim na taon, na binigay nyo sa akin, kahit walang eleksyon, andito ako, tumutulong sa inyo,” she said.

Robredo also highlighted that Negros Oriental was among the provinces that her rival, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., requested to have its votes recounted in his 2016 electoral protest.

The manual recount in this province – along with Camarines Sur and Iloilo – resulted in Robredo’s lead growing by 15,000 votes from her slim margin of only 263,000 votes over Marcos.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, junked the former senator’s election protest in 2021.

She won in Negros Oriental by a wide margin in 2016 vice-presidential race.

“Mayroon pong akusasyon na nagkaroon daw ng dayaan dito sa inyo. Pero alam naman natin ang mga taga-Negros Oriental, hindi naman mga mandaraya,” the Vice President said.

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Robredo on Wednesday went on 4 campaign sorties in Negros Oriental and neighboring province Siquijor. Aside from Dumaguete City, she also campaign in northern Canlaon City and southern Bayawan City.

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