MANILA -- Vice President Leni Robredo, the Philippines' most powerful opposition figure, said Thursday she would run for president in next year's election.
Robredo, who has slammed President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war and pro-China policies, is so far the only major runner to identify as an opposition candidate.
"I will fight. We will fight. I am offering myself as a candidate for president in the 2022 elections," Robredo said in a televised address on Thursday. She has yet to formally file her candidacy.
She is facing an increasingly crowded field. Already running are Duterte-backer Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator, boxing star and senator Manny Pacquiao, and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. Both Pacquiao and Moreno have taken swipes at the president and have positioned themselves as centrists.
Robredo's supporters have urged her to run despite her weak showing in opinion polls. 1Sambayan, a coalition of prominent opposition figures, endorsed her on Friday as its candidate.
Robredo did not immediately accept the backing, saying her decision "can't be based on ambition or prodding of others." She had negotiated with Pacquaio and Moreno to unite against a Duterte-anointed successor, but her efforts apparently failed.
After announcing his retirement on Saturday, the 76-year-old Duterte said "it's Sara-Go" in 2022, referring to his daughter and Sen. Bong Go, his loyal long-time aide, who is running for vice president. Sara, the mayor of Davao in the country's south who is leading opinion polls for president, filed candidacy for re-election as mayor on Saturday. Election rules allow last-minute changes until Nov. 15 after the filing deadline on Friday.
Apart from 1Sambayan's endorsement, Robredo last month said a big factor in her decision would be the candidacy of Marcos, who formalized his bid on Wednesday.
Robredo beat the late dictator's son in the 2016 vice presidential race by a slim margin. Marcos waged a four-year legal battle to unseat Robredo, but the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed his election protest in February.
A former public attorney, the 56-year-old mother of three girls is the widow of former interior secretary Jesse Robredo, who in 2000 won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service -- regarded as Asia's Nobel Prize. Jesse died in a plane crash while serving in the administration of late President Benigno Aquino in 2012.
Robredo entered politics the following year and won a congressional seat, beating an opponent from an influential political dynasty.
In 2016, Robredo won on a campaign to uplift the lives of the marginalized. The political machinery of the former ruling Liberal Party was an advantage that she now lacks.
As leader of the opposition, Robredo clashed with Duterte on issues such as his controversial drug war and foreign policy. Duterte, who was elected separately from Robredo, removed her from the cabinet and attacked her publicly.
With a meager budget, Robredo relied on donations for her office's pandemic response programs. Yet she has struggled in opinion polls. In the latest survey by Pulse Asia, she ranked sixth with score of 8%. Sara Duterte and Marcos got 20% and 15%, respectively.
Robredo's hesitancy to run has contributed to her weak performance in surveys and her declaration should improve her standing, said Edna Co, public administration professor at University of the Philippines.
But her bid for the presidency is going to be "very, very challenging," said Co. "This is one of the toughest elections in the Philippines because there are many contenders."