Robredo rules out presidential run anew: 'It's really closed'

MANILA, Philippines — Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo again ruled out a run for the presidency in 2028 a year before the filing of candidacies, saying the matter was now "closed" and that she lacked the political savvy needed to navigate national politics.

Robredo said she had settled the matter before running for mayor in 2025, and would not return to national office even if she later decided to leave City Hall.

"It's really closed. Nothing can change that," Robredo said in Bikol in a radio interview on Monday, November 9.

Robredo has resolved not to use the mayoralty as a stepping stone toward 2028. "When I ran for mayor, that decision came with it, that I would no longer leave Naga."

Robredo first ruled out a run for the presidency in April in an interview with the same radio station, RMN dwNX Naga, saying she would most likely seek a second term as mayor instead.

Opposition figures, including Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, her 2022 running mate, have since urged her to reconsider.

Early polling for 2028 presidential bets has placed Robredo as a potential frontrunner second to Vice President Sara Duterte, who remains ahead in the surveys. 

In a Pulse Asia survey conducted September 17 to 24, which tested a wide field of possible candidates, Duterte was the preference of 50% of those surveyed, while Robredo was at 26%.

Asked about Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, whose repeated trips to Naga have fed speculation about a 2028 tandem, Robredo said: "[Secretary] Vince has never brought up 2028." She said his visits were tied to the work they had done together in the city.

Dizon has been in Naga several times this year, the most recent being an unannounced visit on October 26, the same day Malacañang moved him from the Department of Public Works and Highways back to the Department of Transportation in a swap with Secretary Giovanni "Banoy" Lopez. Neither side disclosed what was discussed. Dizon has denied that his visits carry a political agenda.

Robredo also said she had not spoken with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. about 2028. She said her last conversation with him was at his birthday celebration in Malacañang in September, which she attended on invitation along with other local chief executives.

The former vice president was also candid in explaining how her years in both national and local office had shown her where she falls short.

"Maybe I could handle the job, but my political savvy really seems lacking," she said. "At the national level, you need to be a strong communicator. I'm weak at that."

She said the next president should be able "not only to do the job but also to handle national politics." 

"At the national level, people largely believe what they read, how you're portrayed," she said. In Naga, she said she believes she could better focus on the work without having to play politics.

Robredo served as vice president from 2016 to 2022 after defeating Marcos for the post. She lost the 2022 presidential election to him, receiving 14.8 million votes to his 31 million. 

In May 2025, she was elected Naga's first female mayor.

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