MANIL— A group from the Davao region supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday emphasized that not all those who came from there are supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte, or the so-called "Duterte die-hard supporters" (DDS).

The group Davao For Leni was launched by Davaoeños who are supporting Robredo in 2022, the Facebook page of which says “Dili Tanang Davaoeños DDS” (not all Davaoeños are DDS.)

At the start of the virtual program, testimonials from various individuals were shown, including a vocal relative of the President, whose family has held Davao City as their bailiwick for decades.

• 'Chill lang': Robredo shrugs off Marcos-Duterte tandem

“Bakit si Leni? Dahil marunong siyang mag-proritize at umaksyon agad pagdating sa emergencies,” Nuelle Duterte said.

(Why Leni? Because she knows how to prioritize and act on emergencies)

“Bakit si Leni? Sa panahon ng pandemya at sakuna napagkaisa niya ang taumbayan na magtulungan at mag-bayanihan, higit sa lahat hindi siya magnanakaw, hindi sinungaling at hindi mamamatay-tao, para sa mga anak ko, kay Leni ang boto ko,” Carmela Santos, meanwhile, said.

(During the pandemic and disasters, she was able to unite the Filipino public to help each other, and she is not a thief and a killer. For the sake of my children, I choose Leni.)

Another supporter described the vice president as a sincere leader.

“Kasi malinis ang kaniyang puso, malinis ang kaniyang intensyon, may malalim na kaisipan, very passionate sa pagtulong sa kapwa at pinakamahalaga sa lahat mahal niya ang bayan,” Maria Theresa Bueno said.

(Her heart is clean and she has pure intentions. She thinks critically and she works for the welfare of everyone)

LOOK: Davaoeños virtually launch their group called Davao for Leni via Zoom and the Facebook page Davao for Leni. The group says "Hindi lahat ng Dabawenyo DDS". pic.twitter.com/oqgWmz4jwG

— Adrian Ayalin (@adrianayalin) November 16, 2021

In response, Robredo sent a video message to her Davaoeño supporters to thank them.

“Mahaba-haba pa ang labang ito pero tuloy lang tayo, sabi ko nga tumindig kayo dahil kasama niyo rin akong tumindig para sa tama, mabuti at makatarungan,” Robredo said.

(This fight is still long but we will continue. We should face this for the sake of truth and justice.)

• Robredo: 'Passionate' volunteerism key to campaign

The group also aired their support for the vice presidential bid of Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who told them about his reluctance at first but that he later decided to take on the challenge as he was chosen by Robredo herself.

Asked by Davaoeños about the priorities of the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem, the lawmaker said that increasing the budget of the agriculture and fisheries sector, which will benefit Mindanao, is one of the key concerns of the opposition.

“Agriculture and fisheries is key and Mindanao, obviously a huge section of Mindanao, continue to be agriculture and fisheries and provide so much in terms of contribution to the agriculture and fisheries sectors so malaking bagay, the Katropa team, we target doubling the agriculture budget within a 6-year period and obviously this has to redound to the benfit of Mindanao,” Pangilinan said.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice and 1Sambayan co-convenor Antonio Carpio also spoke to the Davaoeños why he and the opposition coalition chose the Vice President.

“As you said walang bahid sa (not a whiff of) corruption or anything, I have not seen a candidate, I am a student of politics and I have not seen in my lifetime a presidential candidate as clean and honest, as purest as VP Leni,” Carpio said.

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He also noted that 1Sambayan will be helping Robredo's campaign with their own “digital warriors” to counter trolls supporting other candidates.

“And you know it’s very expensive to have an army of trolls. Only the Dutertes and Marcoses can afford them. They have approached me and said for a certain period of time it is $2 million. I said we cannot even imagine paying you. So we have to, sariling sikap ito (this will be done through our own efforts),” Carpio said.

• READ: Robredo move to run as independent more inclusive

Aside from Robredo and Pangilinan, the Davaoeños also expressed support for 2022 re-electionist Senators Risa Hontiveros and Leila De Lima, and aspirants Chel Diokno, Sonny Matula and Alex Lacson.

The group also expressed support for local candidates in Davao who are going against members of the Duterte family: Davao City 1st district congressional aspirant Mags Maglana and Davao de Oro vice mayoral aspirant lawyer Dexter Lopoz.