Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer, stateswoman and politician who has been serving as the 18th mayor of Naga since 2025, having previously served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 under President Rodrigo Duterte.
Robredo is the second female vice president of the Philippines, after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and the first from the Bicol Region. She represented Camarines Sur in the Philippine House of Representatives from 2013 to 2016. She later announced her candidacy for the 2016 vice presidential election as the running mate of Mar Roxas. She won the election, defeating Senator Bongbong Marcos by a narrow margin. She has spearheaded multiple programs in the Office of the Vice President (OVP); her flagship anti-poverty program, Angat Buhay (), has helped address key areas including education, rural development, and healthcare, in partnership with more than 300 organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the OVP under Robredo responded by providing free shuttle services for frontline workers, swab tests, telehealth services, and raised funds for relief operations across the country. Robredo was awarded by the government of Thailand in 2016 for her work and advocacy in women's empowerment and gender equality. Under her leadership, the OVP also received the ISO 9001: 2015 certification for the office's quality management systems.
During her vice presidency, she served as the chair of the Liberal Party and de facto leader of the opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, where she was appointed by Duterte and briefly served as the chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs. She has received backlash from government supporters for her being staunchly critical to Duterte's policies such as the war on drugs, counter-insurgency initiatives, COVID-19 pandemic response, and soft stance toward China. She has been a constant target of disinformation, with many articles making false claims about her personal life to discredit her.
In 2021, Robredo filed her candidacy in the 2022 presidential elections with Liberal Party leader and Senator Francis Pangilinan as her running mate. Their ticket was ultimately defeated by Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. Following the loss, she founded Angat Buhay, a nonprofit organization, before successfully running for mayor of Naga, Camarines Sur, in 2025.
Early life and education Leni Robredo was born as Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona on April 23, 1965, in Naga, Camarines Sur, Philippines. She was the first of three children born to Naga City Regional Trial Court Judge Antonio Gerona (c. 1933–2013) and Salvacion Santo Tomas (1936–2020).
Robredo attended the basic education department of Universidad de Sta. Isabel de Naga, graduating from elementary school in 1978, and from high school in 1982. She earned her degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of the Philippines School of Economics at UP Diliman in 1986, and proceeded to study law at the University of Nueva Caceres, graduating in 1992. Gerona chose to temporarily forego law studies and instead decided to work as a researcher for the Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), a government agency tasked with integrated area development planning in the three provinces of the Bicol Region. Here she met then-program director Jesse Robredo, who would eventually become her husband. She passed the bar exams on her second attempt in 1996 and was admitted to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in May 1997.
Following her admission, Robredo served in the Public Attorney's Office, a role in which she often took up the defense for cases pursued by her husband, who by then had become Mayor of Naga.
From 1998 to 2008, Robredo became the coordinator of Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligan (SALIGAN), a Naga-based alternative legal support group. SALIGAN's work aimed to encourage young legal professionals to take on leadership roles, and involved visiting distant rural communities to provide legal services to residents who would otherwise have little or no access to such services, as well as conducting legal advocacy by proposing amendments and new laws based on the needs of these marginalized communities. Later, the group's focus shifted to include helping rural women to acquire capital in order to participate in competitive markets.
In addition, Robredo founded the Lakas ng Kababaihan ng Naga Federation (Women Power of Naga Federation), an organization that provides training and livelihood opportunities for women, in 1989.
In 2012, Robredo was named the chairperson of the Liberal Party in Camarines Sur.Robredo widow now Liberal Party head in CamSur Inquirer.net (October 5, 2012)Leni Robredo files candidacy for House seat Inquirer.net (October 5, 2012)Leni Robredo ready to enter politics ABS-CBNnews.com (October 5, 2012)Leni Robredo appointed LP chair in CamSur Rappler.com (October 5, 2012)Leni Robredo eyes RTC judge post in QC Inquirer.net (October 5, 2012)
House of Representatives (2013–2016)
Election
Robredo ran for representative in Camarines Sur's third district in 2013. On May 16, 2013, she was proclaimed the winner of the seat, defeating Nelly Favis-Villafuerte, the wife of former Representative Luis Villafuerte and member of the politically powerful Villafuerte dynasty.
Tenure During her term in congress, Robredo was the vice chairman of the House committees on good governance, public accountability, and revision of laws, and a member of 11 other house panels. She was known for being a strong advocate of the Freedom of Information Act, and a strong supporter of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Participatory governance and transparency were the major objectives and thrusts of Robredo's legislative agenda. The first law Robredo authored in congress was the Full Disclosure Policy Bill (HB 19), which would have mandated all government agencies and their sub-units and projects to disclose their budget and financial transactions in a conspicuous manner "without any requests from the public." Concerned that the marginalized sector should not be denied access to government frontline services and public meetings based on their attire, she sponsored the Open Door Policy Act (House Bill No. 6286), which prohibits government offices and agencies from implementing strict dress codes.
Robredo also authored the People Empowerment Bill (HB 4911), which sought to allow more participation from Filipinos in decision and policy-making, and the Participatory Budget Process Bill (HB 3905), which sought to increase participation in budget-related decisions in government projects by locals. She also wrote the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill (HB 3432) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, language, disability, HIV status, etc.
To promote transparency in the taxation process, she sponsored the house version (House Bill 05831) of what would eventually become Republic Act RA10708, the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act of 2009 (TIMTA).
Other major legislation co-authored by Robredo includes the Anti-Dynasty Bill and the Healthy Beverage Options Act (House Bill 4021).
Legislative portfolio As a member of the 16th Congress, Robredo was one of the principal authors of the house version of "The Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA)" (Republic Act RA10708, House Bill 05831), which was enacted on December 9, 2015. She also co-authored the house version of the following laws: the "National Children's Month Act," Republic Act RA10661 (HB01641) enacted on May 29, 2015, declaring the celebration of the national children's month on November of every year; the "Charter of the Quezon City Development Authority," Republic Act RA10646 (HB03899), lapsed into law on November 8, 2014; the "Open High School System Act," Republic Act RA10665 (HB04085) enacted on July 9, 2015, establishing and appropriating funds for the open high school system; Republic Act RA10638 (HB04089), extending the corporate life of the Philippine National Railways for another 50 years, enacted on June 16, 2014; Republic Act RA10707 (HB04147), amending the "Probation Law of 1976" enacted on November 26, 2015, rationalizing and strengthening the probation system; the "Graphic Health Warnings Law," Republic Act RA10643 (HB04590), enacted on November 15, 2014, prescribing the printing of graphic health warnings on tobacco products; Republic Act RA10655 (HB05280), decriminalizing premature remarriages, enacted on March 13, 2015; and the "Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act.of 2015," Republic Act RA10742 (HB06043), enacted on January 15, 2016.
In addition, Robredo was one of many co-authors of the National Budgets for the years 2014 (RA10633, HB02630, enacted on December 20, 2013), 2015 (RA10651, HB04968, enacted on December 23, 2014), and 2016 (RA10717, HB06132, enacted on December 22, 2015).
Robredo was also a key supporter of: HB 4911: People Empowerment Bill to create a partnership between local governments and civil society through the establishment of a people's council in every local government unit. This act also prescribes the powers and functions of said council; HB 3432: Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, language, disability, HIV status, and other status, and provide penalties for these; HB 4021: Healthy Beverage Options to regulate the availability of beverages to children in schools and for other purposes; HB 19: Full Disclosure Policy to require the full disclosure of all information on fiscal management from all national government departments, bureaus, agencies, and other instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries and local governments. This act will also provide penalties for violations of said requirements; HB 3905: Participatory Budget Process to institutionalize citizens’ participation in the budget process and for other processes; and HB 3237: Freedom of Information to strengthen the right of citizens to information held by the government.
Vice presidency (2016–2022)
+SWS Net satisfaction ratings of DateRatingSep 2016 +49Dec 2016 +37Mar 2017 +26Jun 2017 +36Sep 2017 +41Dec 2017 +42May 2018 +34Jun 2018 +32Sep 2018 +34Dec 2018 +27Mar 2019 +42Jun 2019 +28Sep 2019 +33Dec 2019 +36Dec 2020 +23May 2021 +24Jun 2021 +18Sep 2021 +24Dec 2021 +1Apr 2022 +8Jun 2022 +7
On October 5, 2015, after her three daughters set aside their initial objections, Robredo announced that she would run for vice president under the Liberal Party in the 2016 election, as the running mate of presidential candidate Mar Roxas. Robredo won the election with 14,418,817 votes, or 35.11 percent of cast ballots, narrowly defeating her closest rival, Senator Bongbong Marcos, by 263,473 votes or by 0.64 percent. Marcos, filed an electoral protest on June 29, a day before inauguration. On February 16, 2021, the PET unanimously dismissed Marcos' electoral protest against Robredo.
Robredo was sworn in as vice president of the Philippines on June 30, 2016, at the Quezon City Reception House, which she had since used as her office.