Marcos-Leni meet: ‘No politics,’ but loaded optics
NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur—It was a scorching Saturday midmorning when President Marcos met Leni Robredo in person for the second time since she defeated him for the vice presidency in 2016. However, he made sure that politics would be barely visible.
Both officials dismissed speculation that the President’s trip was anything more than an inspection of a new program to control flooding in the Bicol River Basin—even as it came close on the heels of Vice President Sara Duterte’s announcement that she was running for president in 2028.
The timing of the President’s visit to Robredo’s hometown, where she is now the mayor, sparked talk about a possible alliance to counter Duterte, who is now his staunchest critic.
“We’re not talking about that. You know, I think the mayor will agree with me that it’s service first before politics,” he said.
“The most political thing we did today—I wore my pink socks—my pink socks in honor of Mayor Leni.”
Both Mr. Marcos and Robredo shared a hearty laugh as he lifted the right hem of his trousers to reveal the sock. Robredo, who was wearing a loose pink blouse, appeared pleasantly surprised as pink was her campaign color when she ran against Mr. Marcos in the 2022 presidential election, which he won by a landslide.
Mr. Marcos said the trip to Naga had been planned several months earlier—before Duterte declared her presidential bid and the luncheon reunion between Robredo and several of her key political allies in the 2022 race that spurred talk of her possible run in 2028.
‘Disservice to the people’
Robredo herself said she was not going into any talk about a possible presidential bid in the 2028 elections at this time, as that would be a “disservice to the people.”
“I’m not talking about politics this early because I have a lot of work to do. We all have a lot of work to do,” she told reporters who were travelling with the President.
Robredo said that she had been serving as mayor for less than a year since winning in the May 2025 midterm polls.
“For me, when its time to work, let’s focus on the work. The election—that’s every three years. The time spent on the election, should be every three years,” she said.
Robredo said she spoke at length with the President but noted that he never mentioned politics.
“I appreciated that. Even though we were rivals twice, there was no trace of rancor at all,” she said. “Our engagement was just about our work. That’s a good development despite the fact that we were once political enemies.”
Asked about her reaction to Duterte’s presidential ambition, she said: “That’s everyone right that must be respected.”
Bicol flood concerns
The President said his administration’s new national flood control program, “Oplan Kontra Baha,” was “critical” as storms that often hit Bicol, inundating the region, including Naga, the former Camarines Sur provincial capital.
The Oplan in Naga began on Feb. 18 and the flood control works, particularly at the heavily-silted Sagop Creek which was visited by the President, are scheduled to be completed on July 31.
Covering 29 rivers and creeks and two lakes in Bicol, the project includes cleaning and clearing Naga City’s drainage system.
Robredo, who stood beside Marcos during a brief interview with reporters, said Bicol had sometimes experienced up to 700 centimeters of rain in one day whenever a storm hits the region.
“We still have a lot to do. We will get to that,” the President said when he was pressed to comment about the 2028 elections.
Marcos also refused to comment on the possibility that his sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, who had been critical of his administration, would run alongside Duterte.
“Again—again, this is all politics,” he said. “We’re not going to discuss politics now.”
“What we are here for is to try and find solutions to this very important problem, the very critical problem that we have not only here in Naga City but also in CamSur. And for that matter, for the whole of Bicol. That’s the—that’s what we are concentrating on,” the President said.
P500M for coliseum upgrade
Robredo welcomed Mr. Marcos to her city at the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum, which was named after her husband who died in a plane crash. Her husband was the interior secretary of the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
The President turned over to the mayor a Special Allotment Release Order for P500 million to fund the retrofitting and modernization of the coliseum, which was previously known as the “The Big Dome of the South.”
The 12,000-seat coliseum was built when Robredo’s husband was mayor of Naga as venue for major events outside Metro Manila. It was inaugurated in September 2010.
Following his death in 2012, the Naga City Council passed City Ordinance No. 2012-043 renaming it.
The JMRC also served as a regional logistics hub and evacuation center whenever calamities hit Bicol. The coliseum suffered damage over the years, as it was not designed for prolonged occupation.
The renovation of the JMRC will include the installation of a community kitchen capable of feeding thousands during disasters, improvements to sanitation facilities, roofing upgrades and structural strengthening.
The funds would also cover the improvements in the drainage system to prevent flooding and the establishment of dedicated areas for medical emergencies.
Mr. Marcos and Robredo had tussled as rivals during the vice presidential debate ahead of May 2016 the national elections.
Debate no-show
Mr. Marcos did not appear in the second debate where Robredo predicted that the election will show “The last man standing is a woman.” She narrowly defeated Mr. Marcos, who also lost his election protest against her.
The two were again the main rivals in the 2022 presidential elections, which Mr. Marcos won by a landslide.
The President and the mayor saw each other in person for the first time since the 2016 debate on Oct. 17, 2024, during the inauguration of the Sorsogon Sports Arena, where then-Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a former Sorsogon governor, invited Robredo to welcome Mr. Marcos to the province,
Escudero said that the meeting was the start of the “healing of the wounds” between the two former political rivals. —WITH A REPORT FROM MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN
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