The People's VP

My mother was invited to be the commencement speaker of my high school alma mater. I was not able to attend, but while she was delivering her speech, both of my sisters were messaging me how impressed they were. When we were much younger, my parents’ tutoring assignments were Math for Papa and English for Mama. We (Patty, Jill and I) have always known that Ma writes well and was partly responsible in helping us discover/develop our own writing style, but we are in agreement in saying that it is only now that we realize how underrated her charisma is when speaking in public (hehehe we love you, mujay!).

I may be a bit biased, but I personally think it is because she is such a genuine person (perhaps the most genuine person I know). I hope you’ll enjoy reading this as much as I did. :)

COMMENCEMENT SPEECH - Universidad de Santa Isabel

22 March 2013

(Theme: Go, Be God’s Witnesses of the Faith)

In a few short years, Leni Robredo has ascended from relative political obscurity to become the Philippines’ vice-president. But with a hostile premier and a slim majority, it could be tough at the top

As a photo, it was never going to win any awards. A middle-aged woman stands on a nondescript Metro Manila street at night-time, her back to the camera, dressed in faded jeans and a striped top, waiting for a bus. But Leni Robredo, the woman in the picture, is now vice-president of the Philippines.

After being taken and going viral on social media in early December, in the midst of the vice-presidential race, the image did much to cement the impression of a down-to-earth contender in the public’s eye.

Until being elected to Congress as a member of the Liberal Party in 2013, Robredo lived most of her life in her hometown of Naga City in the Bicol region, southeast of Manila. Being a new face in politics, along with her distance from “well-entrenched” politicians, could work well for her, said Jan Robert R. Go, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman.  

“She knows how people live and how life actually is, especially that national politics in the Philippines is dominated by Metro Manila interests,” Go said.

But her appeal does not end there. She has some of what Mark Thompson, director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at Hong Kong’s City University, calls “inherited charisma”. This was acquired from her late husband, popular statesman Jesse Robredo, who died in a 2012 plane crash. Many Filipinos see parallels with the late Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino, who became president after the assassination of her husband and the overthrow of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.

“[In the election, Robredo] had the image of an honest female leader that distinguished her from the male Machiavellians who largely make up the Philippine political landscape,” said Thompson. And, although she has a limited track record in government that could be considered a weakness, “like Cory Aquino it was also a strength as she seemed to be unsullied by traditional politics”, Thompson added.

Despite being a relative neophyte on the national stage, Robredo has done much local NGO work and took on cases pro bono as a lawyer, earning her respect and loyalty in Naga City. Along with her husband, she was instrumental in creating strong cooperation between local government and civil society in her hometown through the creation of a local people’s council, according to Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Quezon City-based Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. “This brought Naga from a fifth-class city to a first-class city,” explained Casiple.

But Robredo’s focus will now shift to Manila, where she will be dealing with the country’s new president: the tough-talking former mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte, who ran for the PDP-Laban party and secured a commanding six-million vote margin over the Liberal Party’s Manuel Roxas.

Although Duterte and Robredo are both from regions far from the capital and have experience in local politics, there is potential for clashes.

“The issue of human rights might divide them. Leni Robredo had a career as a defender of human rights, and Duterte is well known for his contempt for the human rights of criminals,” said The Asia Foundation’s Steven Rood. “There might be a flashpoint in their relations.”

Moreover, Robredo only beat her vice-presidential rival, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, by a narrow margin of 260,000 votes. Duterte recently declared he is a political ally of the Marcos family, which could leave Robredo sidelined. Furthermore, she is closely linked to the outgoing president, Benigno Aquino III, and his protégé for the vice-presidency, Mar Roxas – both Liberal Party stalwarts.

Robredo has said she will support Duterte “100%” but, as Thompson explained, many of her supporters are hoping Robredo will prove a moderate counterpoint during his term in office.

‘What brings us together as a nation is far more powerful than what pulls us apart.’

by Pauline Denisse Rivera

The campaign period, most notably the televised debates, helped showcase then Representative Leni Robredo's gift for public speaking. She tugged at the hearts of every Filipino with her stories of dealing with the marginalized sector, or what she fondly refers to as the “laylayan ng lipunan.”

10 of her most inspiring quotes:

1. “Kayong nagbigay ng inyong tiwala at umako ng ating laban bilang laban niyo rin. Samahan ninyo ulit ako sa aking bagong paglalakbay.”

2. “Bukas ang pintuan ng Tanggapan ng Pangalawang Pangulo sa lahat—anuman ang katayuan sa buhay, paniniwala, o partido.”

3. “Tayo ay magiging tanggapan na palaging nakikinig sa boses ng taumbayan.”

4. “Ang pagsubok ay kabilang mukha lamang ng pagkakataon.”

5. “Anumang pagbabago sa ating bayan ay nagsisimula sa pagpupursigi ng bawat Pilipino. At kapag nagkaisa tayo, walang imposible.”

6. “Sabi nga ni Jesse noong siya ay nabubuhay pa: ‘What brings us together as a nation is far more powerful than what pulls us apart.’ ”

7. “Sa panahon ng matinding hidwaan, ang pagkakaisa ng bansa ang tanging pag-asa. Iba iba man ang ating pinanggagalingan, iisa ang ating hangarin: na ang bawat pamilyang Pililipino ay namumuhay ng may dangal.”

8. “Kailangan nating gawin ang tama para sa karamihan, hindi lang sa iilan.”

9. “Ang ating pagtutulungan ang ating pinakamabisang puhunan.”

Vice President Leni Robredo

Love this!