MANILA— Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday urged voters to choose leaders according to their conscience rather than the influence of their local officials.

Speaking before a crowd of supporters in Dipolog City, Robredo said voters must use their "hearts and minds" as they cast their votes on May 9.

“Hindi lang dahil sinabi ng ating mga public officials. Alam ko susunod ang marami sa inyo sa public officials. Pero alamin po natin, ano ba ang aming mga pinapaniwalaan, ano ba ang aming track record? Huwag lang po tayong magpapabudol kasi maraming fake news. Kaya po tayo nagha-house to house para palitan natin ng katotohanan ang lahat na kasinungalingan,” Robredo said.

(Let's not vote just because our public officials said so. I know many of you will follow your officials. But let us be more aware of what candidates believe and what their track record is. Let us not be fooled by fake news. That is why we do house-to-house campaigns so that we can replace lies with the truth.)

Local organizers said Robredo's rally in Zamboanga del Norte drew more than 45,000 people.

The province's local officials also came up to support her, as Robredo secured the endorsements of Dipolog City Mayor Dodoy Labadlabad and Representatives Glona Labadlabad (2nd district) and Gani Amatong (3rd district).

While she thanked them for their endorsements, Robredo also noted the huge presence of young voters in the rally as she recalled her college days during the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

According to pre-election surveys, Robredo is trailing frontrunner former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose family was ousted from power by the nonviolent protests more than 30 years ago.

“Ganito din, kami ding mga kabataan 'yung malalakas 'yung loob para pumunta sa kalsada at labanan 'yung diktadurya. Akala ko pagkatapos noong People Power Revolution, okay na lahat. Pero nakikita natin ngayon, na kahit sobrang haba noong panahon na naabuso 'yung ating bansa, parang balik nanaman tayo, lumalaban na naman tayo para sa ating bayan,” Robredo said.

(During our time, it was like this too. It was us, the youth, who had the guts to go out to the streets and fight the dictatorship. I thought everything would be okay after the People Power Revolution. But we can see now that even with the long time our country has been abused, we are now back again fighting for it.)

Robredo also asked her supporters to back the vice presidential bid of her running mate, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan who was in a separate sortie in Cebu at the time, as well as members of her senatorial slate.

Zamboanga del Norte is among Robredo's final stops as the campaign period comes to a close on Saturday, May 7.

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