HEADS UP: Leni Robredo is Running for President, Here's What You Need to Know [Oct. 8]

Here’s a Heads Up from reporter on news that you need to know today, Oct. 8:

ROBREDO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

• Vice President Leni Robredo said she would run for president in 2022, heeding calls from supporters.
• Here’s a look at Robredo’s road from reluctant politician to Marcos slayer in 2016. Can she do it again in the 2022 elections when pandemic recovery is at stake?
• Can pink win the presidency? Robredo is playing up her strengths that her detractors see as her weaknesses. She’s a mother who knows how to sacrifice until she gets the courage to fight back.

2022 ELECTIONS 

• One more try. Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno filed his candidacy for senator.
• Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV is running to reclaim his seat under Robredo’s ticket.
• Former senator Bam Aquino is not running because he will serve as Robredo’s campaign manager.
• Former defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is running for senator. He said his offer to be the vice president of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, should she run for president, still stands.
• Ex-Sen. Bongbong Marcos’ eldest son, Sandro, is running for Congress in Ilocos Norte.
• Kabayan is returning to politics. ABS-CBN star anchor Noli de Castro is running for senator with presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
• Former Sen. Bongbong Marcos disowned push alerts that campaigned for his presidential bid.
• Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto said she would not run for any position in 2022.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• For your passport errands, the DFA’s six TOPS or satellite offices will remain open until December.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Philippines ranked last in Nikkei’s COVID recovery index, highlighting the same challenges raised by Bloomberg in its own study that also put the country at the bottom.
• These Korean words, some very familiar to Filipinos, have made it to the English dictionary.
• Masters of bizarre GIGIL was suspended by a peer group in advertising over its commercial for Belo Medical Group that body-shamed people under virus lockdowns.
• Readers of Conde Nast Traveler named Siargao as the Best Island in Asia.
• Convicted of sex crimes that preyed on young girls, YouTube took down two official channels of R Kelly.
• A breakthrough dengue treatment could be on the horizon based on a new study by the University of California.
• The WHO is recommending the first malaria vaccine for children.
• Vietnam is planning to welcome more vaccinated tourists by December.