President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former Vice President Leni Robredo said politics was not discussed during their joint inspection of the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha program.
Marcos made the statement in a media interview after the visit with Robredo, now mayor of Naga City. He was asked whether he was open to a political alliance with Robredo.
The president replied that no political matters were discussed during their meeting. He added that the most “political thing” he did that day was wearing pink socks in honor of Robredo.
“The most political thing that we did today, I wore my pink socks. My pink socks, in honor of Mayor Leni,” Marcos said, pointing to his socks.
In a separate ambush interview, Robredo also stressed that politics was not part of their agenda. She said the inspection had been scheduled before Vice President Sara Duterte announced her plan to run for president.
Marcos and Robredo previously faced each other in two national elections. In 2016, they competed for vice president, with Robredo winning by nearly 300,000 votes. Marcos contested the results and brought the case to the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.
They ran against each other again in the 2022 presidential election.
Both officials said their joint appearance during the flood control inspection focused on government service and ongoing programs rather than political discussions or possible alliances.
