VP Leni files COCP for pres, picks Kiko Pangilinan as VP

Vice President Leni Robredo has filed her certificate of candidacy for president in the 2022 elections, running as an independent candidate.

She vowed to "defeat the old and rotten brand of politics" and believes they will "return the capacity to bring change to the hands of the ordinary Filipino."

Robredo will face former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who lost to her in the 2016 vice presidential election and filed his candidacy a day earlier.

Marcos Jr. was among the top choices for president in recent opinion polls, and Robredo had stated his candidacy was a factor in her decision.

She has chosen Liberal Party President Francis N. Pangilinan as her vice-president.

Robredo pledged to initiate changes in education, transportation, food security, health, and social justice, and to make the government accountable.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stated that it is the right of every Filipino to stand for public office when asked to react to Robredo's announcement.