Run, Leni, run; ‘#jumpwithleni’ hashtag launched

With the hashtag #jumpwithleni, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda yesterday launched an online campaign to urge Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo to run for Vice President in the 2016 national elections.

Lacierda posted a picture of himself on Facebook doing a jump shot, with the caption “I’ll jump with you Leni #jumpwithleni.”

At press time, Lacierda’s post has earned nearly 750 likes, 37 shares, and 50 comments, with a number of them posting their own jump shot photos with the #jumpwithleni hashtag.

In an earlier Facebook post, Lacierda explained the thought behind #jumpwithleni, which he based on the “What would Jesus do?” (WWJD) motto that had become popular among Evangelical Christians in the United States.

“In the [Philippines] and in particular to a nice, smart, honorable lady who now stands at the crossroads, WWJD can very well mean ‘What would Jesse do?’” Lacierda wrote.

Jump together

He quoted the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma: “Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there’s got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you’re at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together.”

Addressing Robredo, Lacierda said: “You and your daughters are not alone, we will all jump with you!”

Liberal Party (LP) presidential standard-bearer Mar Roxas formally asked Robredo on Thursday to be his running mate.

Robredo has expressed reluctance in running for a post higher than the Senate.

She recently said she wished her husband, the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, had not died and left her to decide on her own.

Other initiatives

In a press briefing at Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said there had been several other initiatives to convince Robredo to be Roxas’ running mate but #jumpwithleni could be the more prominent “because it was Secretary Lacierda who started it.”

Valte said President Aquino was “aware of the ongoing talks with Congresswoman Robredo.”

Valte, however, said she was unaware if Mr. Aquino himself had asked Robredo to be Roxas’ running mate.

As of last month, the discussions between Mr. Aquino and Robredo were about a run for the Senate, Valte said.

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