Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his visit to Naga City was not politically motivated but part of his administration’s public service efforts, amid rumors that former vice president and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo may run in the 2028 national elections.
Standing beside Robredo during an inspection of the city’s flood control projects, Marcos dismissed suggestions that he was “forging alliances” with the former opposition leader.
“Alam mo hindi namin pinag-uusapan iyun. I think mayor will agree with me na serbisyo muna bago politika,” the President said.
He added in jest, “The most political thing that we did today, I wore my pink socks in honor of Mayor Leni,” referring to the color pink associated with Robredo’s 2022 presidential campaign, where she lost to Marcos.
Marcos said the visit had been planned months in advance, citing Naga’s vulnerability to heavy rainfall and its critical geographic location in the Bicol region.
“We have been planning this for a few months already since the situation in Naga is critical due to its location and heavy volume of rain in the region,” he said.
Pressed further on possible political undertones, Marcos declined to elaborate.
“Again, again this is all politics. I will not going to, we’re not going to… What we are here for is to try and find solutions to this very important, very critical problem — not only in Naga City and CamSur, and for that matter for the whole of Bicol. That is what we are concentrating on,” he said.
Earlier, Robredo expressed confidence that political matters would not be discussed during the event.
Marcos also said he plans to return to Naga to monitor the progress of the flood control projects.
Speculation over potential political realignments intensified after Vice President Sara Duterte announced she would run for president in 2028. Duterte was Marcos’ running mate under the Uniteam ticket in the 2022 elections.
