It’s an incredible sight: not since the late Sen. Raul Roco run for president in 1998 and 2004 has someone provided Bicolanos a better alternative.

This was according to Ramon Magsaysay awardee and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo as he expressed his all-out support to Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and his running mate Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II in the May 2010 elections.

According to Robredo, a recipient of various local and international awards and a highly respected local chief executive, Aquino and Roxas will provide a better alternative to the Bicolanos now that there is no legitimate provincemate who is running for the presidency unlike Roco who ran and garnered landslide votes in the entire Bicolano region.

Robredo said the chances of Noynoy and Mar capturing the majority of the hearts of Bicolanos are evident in all the recent surveys conducted in Camarines Sur and nearby provinces of Bicol and the warm reception they received when they made their campaign sortie in the city.

It was Robredo who supported Aquino in filing a petition before the Supreme Court asking it to declare as unconstitutional Republic Act 9716 creating another congressional district in CamSur.
Many people also credit the transformation of Naga City into a vibrant, clean and peaceful city in Bicol to Robredo, who is on his third and last term as mayor.

Local residents say Robredo personifies “delicadeza” in public service for having restrained any member of his family to run for any public office this coming elections.

During the visit of Aquino and Roxas in Naga early this week, the city turned “yellow” with throngs of people lining up in the streets from the airport up to the downtown area where the LP held a rally where hundreds more are awaiting.

They were joined in the rally by LP spokesman Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and senatorial bets TG Guingona and Sonia Roco, widow of the former Bicolano senator.

On their way to Daet, Aquino passed by in Sipocot where an estimated 2,000 supporters waited to hear him speak at the Gov. Mariano Villafuerte Sports Complex. The people were chanting “Noynoy, Noynoy” as the senator from Tarlac descended from his vehicle and walked into a thick crowd who were mostly wearing yellow shirts.

In the town of Daet, Aquino was greeted by a much larger crowd estimated at around 4,000 who patiently waited for his arrival for more than 2 hours inside the DepEd Sports arena.

Prior to that, Aquino flew to Catanduanes and Legaspi City where he held separate town hall type of meetings with students and multi sectoral groups.