Vice President Leni Robredo expressed interest in a turntable during one of her Facebook Lives, saying she needed one to store all the vinyl her supporters gave her.
A netizen then shared his willingness to give her his first ever turntable, and it went viral over TikTok.
On May 13, 2022, a proud kakampink and certified music lover, now an associate producer of a TV show, Mark Angelo Tojon, posted a short video on TikTok showing his desire to give his old turntable to VP Leni, which gained almost 800 thousand views as of this writing.
@mark.tojon sana po makarating sa inyo. nagmamakaawa po ako. Hahaha. 💖🌸 @Leni Robredo I love you, VP! #lenirobredo #kakampink #fyp #vinyl
Tojon, who was one of the 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN, lost his job during the pandemic. Later on, he was diagnosed with depression, and music was his saving grace.
“Sinave ako noong turntable na yun (pertaining to his first turntable) through my depression… Whenever I am feeling down, automatic yun magpi-play ako ng turntable tapos magiging okay ako,” he revealed during an exclusive interview with PAGEONE.
Tojon’s doctor advised him to turn his focus from his depression to his interests, and collecting turntables became his therapy, which almost reached 68 in number today.
Though he is an avid supporter of VP Leni, he also admitted that he was not actually interested in politics before, and even voted for the opposing party way back in 2016.
“I was apolitical before, wala talaga akong masyadong pake… Ako yung tipo ng tao na, “bakit kayo nagrarally?”, “bakit kayo puro reklamo?”, he added, wondering about other people’s political views.
However, after knowing the vice president’s accomplishments, receipts of help and actions, he suddenly became interested in politics and even joined the People’s Rally four times.
“Makikita mo kasi sa tao eh, nararamdaman mo sa tao na nag raradiate ang kabutihan ng puso and yung willingness to serve. Kung kaya parang unti-unti na nakuha niya (VP Leni) ako without even trying hard,” he shared.
This is why Tojon wanted to give his most sentimental piece to the person he looked up to the most, as he also saw himself in that position before.
“Naiisip ko na makakatulong yun sa kanya after lahat ng bashing, black propaganda ng kabilang kampo, in a way na parang iniisip ko na parang makatulong yun sa kanya para makapag cope up,” he said.
According to Tojon, he knows that there are a lot of people who love VP Leni, and through this small gesture, he wanted to give back the radical love he received from his fellow supporters.
Now, he was able to connect through the friends of the staff of the Office of the Vice President.
“Marami na nag message talaga na gustong tumulong… nag-ppm sa akin actually, mga hindi ko talaga sila kilala pero sila yung nagsabi na sila yung magcoconnect sakin sa OVP,” he claimed.
He is hopeful of meeting the Vice President by the end of May as VP Leni is still in New York because of Jillian Robredo’s graduation.
Tojon also has a message for all her supporters who underwent deep dismay at their bet’s loss in the presidential race.
“Yung inspiration na binigay ni VP Leni ay very impactful, so yung hope na binigay niya sa atin, napakalaking bagay na,” Tojon said.
“So yung hope na binigay niya sa atin, I hope hindi siya agad mawala,” he added.
For him, VP Leni’s ripple effect on the people will always stay in his heart; she will always be an inspiration of kindness to be a better person and a better citizen of the Philippines.
He ended his statement in the interview by reminding the people what VP Leni always reminded them, saying, “Kapag binabato tayo ng masasakit na salita, magbato lang rin tayo ng pagmamahal.”
