Pink power: Leni Robredo seeks to thwart a Marcos comeback

Despite lagging in polls, the VP has fostered a new style of grassroots campaigning

Vice President Leni Robredo takes part in a rally in Manila on March 20 as part of her campaign for the presidency, © Getty Images

CLIFF VENZON and FRANCESCA REGALADO, Nikkei staff writers

April 28, 2022 10:59 JST

MANILA/TOKYO -- Manila had never seen a birthday party quite as large as Leni Robredo's.

More than 400,000 people, organizers said, crowded into the Macapagal Boulevard near Manila Bay for Robredo's largest election rally yet. Many sweated in the heat for 12 hours to listen to the vice president and presidential candidate speak at the end of a daylong celebration.