Some 150 supporters of Vice-President Leni Robredo rallied in front of the historic General Post Office at O’Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland on February 26 to campaign for the presidential candidate and running-mate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Most of the attendees were healthcare workers, accountants, and IT professionals from County Mayo, Kerry, Sligo, Mullingar, Cork, Tipperary, Kildare, and Dublin.
They also declared their support for Chel Diokno, Riza Hontiveros, Leila De Lima, Sonny Trillanes, Teddy Baguilat, Alex Lacson, Sonny Matula and Neri Colmenares in the senatorial race.
The rallyists cheered: “Gobyernong tapat, angat buhay lahat!”
The event organizers belong to a core group of volunteers who held a rally in September 2017 to protest alleged extra-judicial killings and alleged human rights violations during the Duterte administration and its “war on drugs”. The 10-member core group has also called on the government to “end Impunity, to respect the rule of law and to stop historical revisionism”.
One of the core group members is a former De La Salle University professor and University of the Philippines graduate, Tina Manipis-Almack.
After the 2017 rally, she said the core group became busy due to their personal lives and later on the pandemic. “But when we learned that Leni Robredo has decided to run for the presidency, we have decided to support her candidacy and should start to campaign for her,” Manipis-Almack said.
Dion Ocampos, also a core group member from Killarney, asked members to catch up last October. They thought of posting that meeting on Facebook and invited people who want to support Robredo.
“We were surprised with the number of people who showed up and wanted to support Leni. We were just going to have coffee but about 20 more supporters joined us to show solidarity,” Dion said.
Due to the pandemic, they conducted Zoom meetings. Later on, they coordinated their efforts with Team Leni Robredo throughout Europe.
They have formally called themselves Team Leni Robredo-Ireland under the umbrella organization of Team Leni Robredo-Europe, which is a group of Filipinos supporters from the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Veneto, Iceland, Belgium, Central and Eastern Europe, Norway, and Toscana.
Manipis-Almack and Jeffery Reyes were the coordinators for Europe initially and later on Steven Baldesco and Clarissa Macasero assisted in the coordination. They regularly attended the webinar of Team Leni Robredo-Europe in coordination with the Robredo People’s Council in the Philippines.
“There were only 10 of us when we started, and now, we are growing. This election is a fight of good versus evil. We do not want a president who is a convicted tax evader, a liar and most of all a plunderer of our nation’s wealth. We want a capable and humane leader who will think for the good, especially the poorest of the poor. Leni Robredo has a track record to prove that,” said Tina Manipis-Almack.
“The driving force behind Leni Robredo’s team here in Ireland is our love for our country and concern for the future of our children’s children. We admire the spirit of volunteerism in our group which I think we emulate from Leni because she has been a volunteer lawyer for people who are disadvantaged even before she became a public servant.
“She has genuine love and kindness for people suffering in the Philippines.”
Macasero will also vote for Leni because “personality-wise she is decent. She has integrity and she is with conviction na tumulong sa mga mahihirap, hindi convicted.”
After the initial meetup, Team Leni Robredo-Ireland held a caravan rally in November 2021 in Papal Cross, Phoenix Park, where about 90 supporters attended.
“It was very successful and some members even volunteered to bring lugaw and pink puto to share after the caravan,” Baldesco said.
“We are still in awe with the outpouring of support to VP Leni. We have close to 300 members already on our Facebook page. Fake news is prohibited on our page.
“Our next event will be in the last week of March or in the first week of April when the overseas absentee voting period is about to start.”
Source: ABS CBN