[14] She ran as an independent candidate despite being the chairperson of the Liberal Party, a move she explained as signifying her openness to alliances.

Leni Robredo ran in the 2016 Philippine vice presidential election as the running mate of Mar Roxas under the Liberal Party ticket.

[28] She reiterated her disinterest in November 2020[29] and March 2021,[30] but in June 2021, she changed her position and expressed her openness to running for the presidency.

[15] In March 2021, former Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio launched 1Sambayan (read as "isambayan", meaning "one nation"), a coalition that aimed to place one opposition candidate.

[31] Carpio was aiming not to split the vote, pointing out that Duterte won over Mar Roxas and Grace Poe in 2016 because those who were against him were not united.

[32] 1Sambayan formally began its selection process for a presidential and vice-presidential tandem on June 12, 2021, when they announced their six initial nominees.

These included senator Grace Poe, vice president Leni Robredo, former senator Antonio Trillanes, human rights lawyer and former senatorial candidate Chel Diokno, incumbent house deputy speaker Vilma Santos-Recto, and CIBAC representative and house deputy speaker Eddie Villanueva.

[35] Former education secretary Armin Luistro, one of the convenors of the group, announced Robredo's acceptance of the nomination and the filing of her candidacy on October 5.

[16] During the CNN Philippines presidential debate, she explained that she broke her previous vow to not run for the presidency because of fake news and disinformation, an enabling of corruption, and the "politics of the past.

[43][44] On its launch, the color her campaign used was hot pink, to signify "protest and change," and was popularized by 'Dapat si Leni', a group of Robredo supporters.

Based on Robredo's Angat Buhay program under the Office of the Vice President, the slogan was made to reflect the campaign's platform of good governance and transparency.

[52] Del Rosario wrote and recorded another song for the campaign, "Rosas" (Rose), featuring Gab Pangilinan (Francis Pangilinan's niece), while Ogie Alcasid released "Handa Ka Na Ba kay Leni" (Are You Ready for Leni).

Other songs used in Robredo's campaign rallies included "Liwanag sa Dilim" (Light in the Dark) by Rivermaya and "Alapaap" by the Eraserheads.

[54] On February 8, 2022, Robredo held her proclamation rally in Plaza Quezon in her hometown, Naga City, Camarines Sur.

[57] Due to the sheer number of supporters, the event resulted in a spillover crowd that violated several safety protocols set by the local government.

This caught the attention of pop star Ariana Grande when she noticed her song "Break Free" being used and sung by many people during the said rally.

[69] On April 23, Robredo celebrated her 57th birthday at a rally, labeled as a street party by media outlets, along Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay.

Opinion polls conducted before the filing of candidacies showed Robredo garnering about 5 to 10 percentage points of voting intentions.

[167] Surveys conducted by OCTA Research and Publicus Asia during the same period showed Robredo polling 14 and 20.2 percent respectively.

[174] This was corroborated by the Publicus Asia poll conducted on March 30 – April 6, with Robredo garnering 23 percentage points.

[176] Robredo and Pangilinan endorsed the following candidates for the 2022 Philippine Senate election, thus forming the tandem's "senatorial slate" referred to as "Team Robredo–Pangilinan":[177][178][179][180][181] Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri was initially included in the senatorial slate as a guest candidate.

She said women are often unable to leave their marriages because they are financially dependent on their husbands, and economic empowerment can help them become capable of walking away from abuses.

[199] This included the reopening of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas, giving gadgets to students in high-risk areas, ensuring free access to quality education materials on the Internet, and establishing "community learning hubs" where students without Internet access and electronic devices can borrow such.

[201] On December 11, 2021, Robredo's campaign team released her "Hanapbuhay para sa lahat" (Livelihood for all) plan, detailing her agenda to revive industries, provide stable employment, and ensure the protection of workers' rights and improvement of labor conditions.

She vowed to continue the full modernization of the armed forces and build a credible defense around the country's waters.

She vowed to continue the program, but said she will prioritize public–private partnerships (PPPs) instead of official development assistance (ODA) aids.