• Lea Salonga says she will support administration bet Leni Robredo
• The award-winning artist knows the Bicolana solon personally
• She describes Robredo as lovely and smart
MANILA, Philippines – International Filipino artist Lea Salonga will be supporting Camarines Sur Leni Robdredo as vice presidential candidate in 2016; this was revealed in the singer’s recent interview with New York-based online Filipino magazine The FilAm.
Salonga shared she got excited when the Bicolana lawmaker finally agreed to throw her hat at the presidential derby and join former Interior secretary Mar Roxas as his runningmate.
“I did get excited when Leni Robredo threw her hat into the VP ring. I was like ‘Ohh, I have my candidate for VP,’” she told Cristina DC Pastor of The FilAm and Elton Lugay of Inquirer.
Robredo is the widow of the late Interior secretary and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo. She was thrust into the political limelight after the death of her husband; winning in a landslide poll over a prominent family in Camarines Sur in the 2013 election.
In the aforementioned interview, Salonga admitted knowing the vice presidential aspirant personally.
“I just love her as a human being. She’s lovely and smart. So I’m supporting her,” the Broadway singer said.
In a post on Robredo’s Facebook account, the congresswoman thanked Salonga for supporting her candidacy. She wrote: “Thank you Ma’m Lea for your support! We hope to excite and inspire more people to have Leni as their VP.”
Salonga, an active social media user who became the target of Internet trolls over her some of her controversial takes on certain issues, disclosed she was a former member of the school’s debating team who rarely win debates but knows how the rule should be played.
Knowing that these trolls don’t always play by any rules, the Tony Award-winning actress said that while she is open to arguments, turning it into a personal and nasty exchange of insults is what annoyed her the most.
“I will have disagreements about the RH Bill. I will have disagreements about same-sex marriage. You can still respect one another even though your points of view will differ,” she added.
On her take about Philippine politics, Salonga said: “It’s hard to say what’s rhetoric and what’s reality.”
However, Salonga failed to mention whether she will support Robredo’s runningmate and administration bet, Mar Roxas, as well.
Salonga is currently in the US for the musical previews of Allegiance at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre where she plays Kei Kimura. The show is expected to open officially on November 8, 2015.