OUTGOING Vice President Leni Robredo has no regrets for leading the opposition despite the backlash that she has suffered under the Duterte administration in the past six years.
With only four days left in office, the Vice President looked back yesterday on her six-year stint as the country’s second highest elective official and said that she realized that the treatment she and her office received from the administration toughened her up even more and made her strive to do better for the people.
“Wala naman akong regrets (I have no regrets),” she said on the final episode of her weekly program on RMN radio. “Grabe ‘yung dinaanan namin pero ayaw na naming ikuwento pa ‘yung dinaanan kasi para sa amin ‘yun ‘yung blessing. ‘Yung kahirapan talaga, ‘yun ‘yung blessing sa amin (We had to endure tremendous trials, but I don’t want to narrate those anymore because to us, those were blessings. The difficulties really were blessings to us).”
In retrospect, Robredo said the ugly treatment she was often subjected to under the Duterte administration was what forged her in fire, strengthening her resolve to prove her doubters and detractors wrong.
She recalled how certain departments would avoid getting involved with the OVP whenever it needs assistance for fear of drawing the ire of the Executive department.
“Merong mga departments na bukas ang loob pero merong mga departments din na takot o ayaw dahil sa politika (There were departments that were open to help but there were others that were scared and didn’t want any part in it because of politics),” said Robredo who lost to now President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the May 9 presidential race.
Because of the situation, the former Camarines Sur congresswoman said she and her team “learned a lot” and “we were able to show the power of private partnerships.”
“At ngayon kaya malakas ‘yung loob naming gawin ‘yung Angat Buhay kasi nahasa na kami sa gano’n na trabaho na halos walang tulong from government pero maraming nagagawa (And now, we’re emboldened to do Angat Buhay because we became better at doing that kind of job, which, while almost without government assistance, still accomplishes a lot),” she said.
The outgoing Vice President, who is a lawyer by profession, will focus on her Angat Buhay program once she steps down from office on June 30.
Robredo is planning to re-launch her Angat Buhay program as a non-government organization (NGO) with the biggest number of volunteers working to help indigents.
Angat Buhay is an anti-poverty program which uses private sector resources to augment the meager budget of the OVP.
Robredo said the constitutional limitations of her office made her more creative, rising above the belief that she was just a mere “spare tire” in case anything untoward happens to the President.
“Kailangan pag-isipan talaga papano mas bibigyan ng mas malaking mandato yung vice president. Kung hindi ka masyado naging (We had to devise ways the vice president a bigger mandate. (If you are not) creative, sayang opisina (the office is a waste),” she said.
“Looking back, iyong lahat ng mga kahirapan na binigay sa amin, actually iyon ang nagpahusay sa amin (every obstacle that was given to us, actually only made us better),” she added.
