(UPDATES) FORMER vice president Leni Robredo on Saturday said the annual festival of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City was politically neutral, and anyone could visit her home, regardless of political affiliation. These were Robredo's first comments after Vice President Sara Duterte paid her an unexpected visit Friday. "During the Peñafrancia Festival here in our city, there are no political colors ... this is politically neutral," she told reporters in Filipino. "Everyone who visits [Our Lady of Peñafrancia] is welcome in our place," she added. The former vice president said since her husband, the late Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, became mayor of Naga in 1988, everyone was welcome. Robredo spoke with Duterte for about an hour on Friday. She also welcomed Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. at her home. "Every time there's a visitor in Naga, we always welcome them in our home," she said. Incumbent Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion also shared on Facebook on Saturday that Revilla visited Robredo as they had lunch together at her home with former Calabanga, Camarines Sur vice mayor Philip Dumalasa. Following her husband's footsteps, Robredo is running for Naga City mayor in next year's national and local elections. Robredo's spokesman, Barry Gutierrez, said Duterte's visit was sudden. "She [Duterte] went to her [Robredo's] home all of a sudden. She was politely accepted. They talked, but not about politics. It was just a simple conversation and not a meeting. Then she left. End of conversation," Gutierrez wrote on the X social media platform on Saturday in Filipino. He said while he disagrees with the politics of Duterte, he thought it was right that Robredo welcomed her politely. "Hindi tayo bastos (We are not rude)," Gutierrez added. In a television interview on Friday night, he also said it was Duterte who initiated the visit to Robredo and explained that it was merely a personal visit and that they did not discuss anything political. But former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday criticized the encounter, saying Robredo was wrong in meeting Duterte. "Ma'am Leni, we wanted VP Sara impeached. She was even disrespectful to Sen. Risa [Hontiveros]. Why did you even meet her? Are you siding with her?" he wrote on X. "Based on our info, the visit was arranged and well-coordinated a few days ago. Somebody is lying to cover up the political blunder of meeting Sara," Trillanes added in another post on Saturday. Former elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon suggested that the meeting between the two vice presidents was a "master stroke," given that Duterte distanced herself from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was her running mate in the 2022 elections. "VP Sara's unannounced visit to [former vice president] Leni was a master stroke. She wants to reach out to Leni now that [Marcos] is her enemy. It may not win her votes, but it may win her some sympathy," she wrote on X. Robredo's former running mate in 2022, former senator Francis Pangilinan, said that during the festival of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, an annual event in Naga City that was Duterte's purpose for the visit, the Robredo family welcomed everyone, including politicians, to their home, dating back from the days of the late former local government secretary Jesse Robredo in 1988, while he was starting as a mayor of the city. "People from all walks of life visit Naga City for the Peñafrancia Festival, and since 1988, when Jesse was still in his first term as mayor, he welcomed everyone to his home with Leni," Pangilinan said in an X post in Filipino on Saturday. "Leni's agenda here is not for political purposes but to welcome those who joined the pilgrimage, regardless [of who they are]. Let's not make this into a big deal," he added. Former senator Bam Aquino said Robredo welcomes everyone during the festivities in Naga. "In one of the biggest celebrations of faith in Naga City, Leni's door was open to everyone, whether it's a political ally or rival, one thing never seen in our country's politics. Let's not add any malice to a simple courtesy call and the politeness to Leni," he said on X in Filipino. The LP on Friday announced that Robredo will be running for mayor of Naga City in 2025, while Pangilinan and Aquino are eyeing a comeback to the Senate.
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