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Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona-Robredo, during her grand rally in Zamboanga City on March 17, paused during her speech at the pink crowd after seeing a butterfly or mariposa in Chabacano.
For VP Robredo, she believed it was her late husband, Jesse F. Robredo, who accompanied her.
“Parati pong nagpaparamdam ang asawa ko,” Robredo revealed after she saw a butterfly onstage.
Sir Jesse is with her wife sa journey na ito. May butterfly 🦋#ZamboangaIsPink @lenirobredo pic.twitter.com/ReluIXC23z
— Cjay (@tian_cjay) March 17, 2022
VP Leni briefly paused her speech at the Zamboanga People’s rally because a huge butterfly flew towards the stage. She then says “parati pong nagpapaparamdam ang asawa ko.”
My harrrrt. 😭 #ZamboangaIsPink 🌸 pic.twitter.com/f9F3kobifz— Jays (杰森) (@jaesoon) March 17, 2022
In Filipino culture, specifically superstitious belief or pamahin, it is believed that a
butterfly represent a deceased loved one whose presence wants to be felt.
According to parapsychologist and paranormal consultant Jaime Licauco, Filipinos believe that butterflies carry symbolic meaning: stages of life and transformation.
For Vice President Leni Robredo, dating after Jesse Robredo is out of the question as she had already felt love to last her a lifetime.
READ: https://t.co/18cr6QfWz9 pic.twitter.com/uTHO3vDD7v
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) September 25, 2020
The irreplaceable bond that Leni and Jesse had was engraved to the core of Len that
she wished for no one anymore. She reiterated this in one of her interviews detailing how
sure she is with Jesse.
“Naalala ko the first time na sinabi niya na mag-asawa tayo, parang para sa akin sobrang sure ako, sobrang sure ako na ito na ‘yung taong gusto kong mapangasawa (I remember the first time he told me that we should get married, for me I was very sure, I was very sure that this is the person I want to marry),” she said in the “Usapang Pogi” series of the Jesse M. Robredo Foundation which was produced in commemoration of the former secretary’s life.
“Para walang pag-aalinlangan, wala ako pagdasal na bigyan mo ako ng sign kung siya na talaga. Wala. Parang, deep in my heart, alam ko ito yung gusto ko makasama (There’s no apprehension, don’t need to pray for a sign that it’s really him. Nothing. It’s like, deep in my heart, I know he’s the one I want to be with),” Robredo added in an interview in August 2021.
With that, Vice President Leni Robredo confirmed that she has no plans of remarrying and would be bringing the fond memories of her late husband to Malacañang when she wins come May 9 elections.
“Ours wasn’t a perfect marriage, but it was great nonetheless. We brought out the best in each other. We were happy being together and We were really partners all throughout. He was proud that I was my own person and respected my decisions,” said the VP in February 2022.
The tsinelas leadership of Jesse, in the early years, has been a hope of being in touch with the people. The late mayor’s “walang malaki o maliit sa akin, lahat pare-pareho” meant not only treating his job as assignments but looking at people equally, no matter what their status in life is.
“Good Government Cannot Be Achieved Without People Empowerment” is what Robredo made an impact not only in Naga city but serves as a model to the country. Jess often emphasized that “it is not enough for a leader to be good; more importantly, it is the people and the system that must force the leader to be good.”
The Vice President later said, a year after her husband’s death that her husband’s mayoralty in Naga City and his stint as the Secretary for the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has raised the bar for Filipino politicians.
Inspired by her late husband’s good governance and transformational love like a
butterfly, she hopes to transcend love and good governance to Filipinos.
