Robredo: Better results with ‘calm, courageous’ leadership

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo is out to disprove those who think that a leader should be loud and iron-fisted to command respect.

During her Rappler Talk interview on Thursday, September 13, Robredo was asked about the kind of leadership the opposition can expect from her.

“‘Yung sa akin lang, mas gusto ko sana is to show that there is a different kind of leadership and citizenship than what the present administration is showing us. Halimbawa, kung dinadaan sa dahas, dinadaan sa lakas ng boses ‘yung pamamaraan, gusto ko ipakita na ‘yung calm saka quiet courage, ‘yung resultang mabibigay, mas malaki,” she said.

(For me, I’d like to show that there is a different kind of leadership and citizenship than what the present administration is showing us. For example, if they’re doing things by force, by shouting, I want to show that you can have better results through calm and quiet courage.)

President Rodrigo Duterte had said on several occasions that the Vice President was unfit to succeed him should there be a sudden vacancy in the presidency, and that the country would be “better off with a dictator” than with someone like Robredo as chief executive.

Duterte had also said that he preferred former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, who has an electoral protest against Robredo, to succeed him.

Apparently alluding to Duterte, Robredo said a good leader does not have to “silence critics.”

“‘Yung attempt to silence critics, to silence the opposition. Gusto ko sana ipakita na ang mabuting leadership ay na-a-achieve ‘pag mag-adhere ka sa prinsipyo na nirerespeto mo ang dissenting opinions and ginagamit ‘yung dissenting opinions para mapabuti ang pamamalakad,” Robredo said.

(There’s an attempt to silence critics, to silence the opposition. I want to show that good leadership can be achieved if you adhere to the principle of respecting dissenting opinions and using those dissenting opinions to improve governance.)

She said citizens should be empowered so that they can express their sentiments “without fear” that they would become government targets. Robredo said she would like to prove that better results can be achieved under that kind of leadership.

“Gusto kong mapakita na posible naman ‘yung ganitong klaseng leader na ‘yung results na ma-a-achieve mo, mas mabuti pa nga sa na-a-achieve ngayon (I want to show that it’s possible to have this kind of a leader and achieve even better results). I think there’s a dearth in that,” she added.

Robredo said the last two years of the Duterte administration showed the downside of a “shock and awe” leadership.

“For two years, ‘yung pinakita sa ating klase ng leadership, talagang shock and awe eh, ‘di ba? Parang shock and awe na ‘pag hindi ka sang-ayon, mayroon ka na kaagad na brand…destabilizer ka na o masama kang tao. Gusto kong ipakita na hind ‘yun eh,” she said.

(For two years, the kind of leadership we saw was really shock and awe, right? It’s shock and awe that if you don’t agree, you’re immediately branded as a destabilizer or a bad person. I want to show that it’s not the case.) 

Amid such “shock and awe” leadership, “many mistakes were still committed,” Robredo said in Filipino.

The Vice President did not specify these mistakes but in recent weeks, and especially following Duterte’s order to void the amnesty of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, she called out the Duterte administration for focusing on silencing its critics than on easing inflation and the rice supply problem. – Rappler.com