VICE President Leni Robredo said she had to renege on her 2016 promise not to run for president because of the lies being spread by some quarters pushing for the return to the “old and corrupt” kind of politics in the country.
The opposition presidential candidate said she had to break her promise to her daughters because she has to step up and prevent the country from going back to its dark days.
“Dahil sa fake news, disinformation at propaganda ang namayani, naroon na ang threat ng pagbabalik na pulitika na nagdala ng corruption, nagdala ng plunder in the past, iyong klase ng pulitika na nagpahirap sa ating lahat (Because of fake news, disinformation and propaganda that prevailed, the threat of returning to the politics that brought corruption, plunder, the kinds of politics that made us suffer in the past, was there),” she told the CNN presidential debates on Sunday night.
Robredo gave the explanation after she was shown a video clip of CNN’s 2016 vice presidential debates where she said she was not interested in seeking higher office if she was going to be elected vice president, the same answer given by her political nemesis, then senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who skipped Sunday’s debate.
The Vice President did not identify anyone but she was obviously referring to Marcos’ camp as the one behind what she called the systematic spread of lies and disinformation.
Robredo said she did all she could to unite all presidential contenders to block the country’s return to old politics but failed so she decided to run, herself.
Marcos has been consistent in saying he has nothing to apologize for for human rights violations committed during the martial law regime of his father, including the torture and murder of political activists, dissidents and journalists who fought the dictatorship.
In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that the 10,000 human rights victims during the martial law regime were entitled to compensation from Marcos’ $10 billion Swiss bank deposits, which was verified to have been ill-gotten.
The late dictator’s son, who has been skipping debates arranged by major media groups, also has also refused to own up to the allegations that their family stole billions of dollars from the Filipino people despite previous court records.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government has recovered at least P171 billion worth of Marcos ill-gotten wealth and is trying recover another P125 billion.
Marcos is also accused of failing to file his income tax return as public official between 1982 to 1985 but the disqualification case against him was junked by the Commission on Elections.
