WHEN Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo decided to run for president, she went from ready to run if chosen by the unity ticket, which was what 1Sambayanan was, to announcing it in a 15-minute video. As early as September, she stated, "No matter who's the opponent, as long as the anti-admin forces choose me, I will fight." Going up against BBM, the VP pointed out, "If I'm going one-on-one against Bongbong Marcos, I will fight even if I'm at a disadvantage." Around this time though, she was still pursuing negotiations to unite anti-administration forces. Robredo was quoted as saying: "What I'd like to prevent is the opposition splitting up. That's what I want to prevent. So, I'm exerting effort to unify us." Here is where the whole thing about the anti-administration coalition failed, and they failed miserably. If it was a game of chance, the admin will get 50 percent and the opposition will get 50 percent, divided by the number of those who filed. By that alone, one can see the advantage of the administration ticket, and at around this time, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte was still being rumored to be gunning for the presidency.

Where was Robredo in 2016? Robredo's winning margin of 0.61 percent was the closest margin since Fernando Lopez's 1965 VP victory. Robredo won at 35.11 percent, or 14,418,817, against Bongbong Marcos' 34.47 percent, or 14,155,344. This is critical because it would appear her base went down in the six years that she was VP, and that is a red flag already in political management. The only way one can expand a base is by targeting the undecided or that of the No. 1 candidate, assuming the rest are not ranking well.

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