‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ tells Leni Robredo’s life story

MANILA, Philippines – Actress Dimples Romana played Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo in the Saturday, February 6, episode of the long-running drama series Maalaala Mo Kaya. (READ: 3 days before campaign, MMK to feature Robredo)

The episode featured Leni’s life story – her journey from working in the private sector to eventually running for Congress before running for vice president.

Leni was hesitant to enter politics at first. Dimples, as Leni, said that she was scared and that she wanted to be able to spend more time with her family.

In the episode, Leni was torn between her family and serving others, which was something she was raised to do – “Hindi lahat ng tao kasing-palad natin. Hindi lahat ng tao mayaman, pero nakakatulong tayo sa kapwa kahit sa maliit na paraan,” her father said, early in the episode.

(Not everyone is as fortunate as wel are. Not everyone is rich, but we’re able to help others even in small ways.)

Leni, it seemed, managed to do both at first. The MMK episode showed scenes of her happy family life with her late husband, Jesse Robredo, as well as her life helping those in need.

It wasn’t until her husband Jesse Robredo’s untimely death in a plane crash that Leni was pushed to enter politics. Jesse was interior and local government secretary at the time of his death.

It was clear in MMK that Leni and her 3 daughters, Aika, Patricia, and Jillian, had a difficult time after Jesse’s death and that the whole family wasn’t sure about her going into politics.

However, the episode also showed crowds of people chanting, showing their support for her outside her house.

Even after his death, Jesse still made a huge impact on Leni’s life. Leni eventually decided to run for Congress, remembering what Jesse said years ago – that it’s more important to serve others, fear notwithstanding. She represents Camarines Sur’s 3rd district and is the running mate of Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey published on February 6, 2016, Leni ranked 3rd in the vice-presidential race, with 18% of voters’ preference.

MMK, the longest-running Philippine drama series in the Philippines, is hosted by Charo Santos-Concio. The series features true stories of Filipinos.

MMK has featured politicians in the past too, including the late president Corazon “Cory” Aquino and Senator Manuel Villar. – Rappler.com