WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Leni Robredo, 14th vice president of the Republic of the Philippines, will be stepping down from office by noon on June 30, 2022.
The past six years have been a tumultuous one for Robredo, who had to juggle the vice presidency with leading the fragmented opposition forces against outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte. She was briefly appointed as housing czar, only for Duterte to ease her out of Cabinet meetings. She eventually resigned in 2016. Irked by her criticisms of the drug war, a spiteful Duterte later appointed Robredo as co-chair of his anti-drugs body, but he fired her after just 18 days. Robredo became the punching bag of pro-Duterte propagandists and trolls, who spewed the most vicious lies against her and her family.
Yet these attacks did not stop Robredo from reinventing the Office of the Vice President. Her flagship anti-poverty program Angat Buhay was widely praised for being quick and effective despite the OVP’s measly annual budget. The program, with help from its 372 partner-organizations, benefitted some 622,000 Filipinos across 223 cities and municipalities, using more than P520 million primarily sourced from donations from the private sector.
Robredo tried but failed to gun for the presidency in the high-stakes 2022 elections. She now plans to return to being a development worker and alternative lawyer for the poor and the marginalized.
She will be turning Angat Buhay, her flagship program as VP, into a non-governmental organization, eyeing it to become the “biggest volunteer movement” the country has ever seen. Robredo also plans to actively lead efforts to counter the disinformation plague in the Philippines.
In this diary, Rappler reporter Mara Cepeda documents Robredo’s final days as vice president.
LATEST UPDATES
A chapter closes: Former VP Leni Robredo changes Facebook name as her term ends
As her term as vice president ended at noon on Thursday, June 30, Leni Robredo changed the name of her official Facebook page from “VP Leni Robredo” to “Atty. Leni Robredo.”
Robredo plans to work again as an alternative lawyer with the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal, the non-profit organization where she spent years representing the poor and the marginalized in court before her first foray into politics in 2013.
The former vice president is also set to launch the Angat Buhay non-government organization on Friday, July 1.
Robredo sought the presidency in the 2022 elections, her campaign inspiring a massive volunteer-led movement. But it wasn’t enough to beat her rival and now President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
HINDI TOTOO: Ayaw bumaba ni Leni Robredo sa puwesto
Ang sabi-sabi: Ayaw bumaba ni Leni Robredo sa puwesto bilang pangalawang pangulo.
Marka: HINDI TOTOO
Ang katotohanan: Sa Hunyo 30, 2022, matatapos ang termino ni Leni Robredo bilang ika-14 na bise presidente ng Republika ng Pilipinas. Bago ito, nakipagtulungan ang kanyang opisina sa transisyon ng kapangyarihan kay vice president-elect Sara Duterte.
Bakit kailangang i-fact check: Nang isulat ang fact check na ito, umani na ng mahigit 29,000 views sa YouTube ang sabi-sabing ito. Batay sa mga komento sa video, nagbibigay ito ng maling mensahe sa mga manonood at naghihimok ng hate speech.
Basahin ang detalyadong fact check dito. – Erick Prynze Sazon
[WATCH] Robredo has no regrets about 2022 presidential run
Vice President Leni Robredo says her volunteer-led presidential run was the ‘happiest, most satisfying’ campaign she has ever been part of.
Read more.
June 27, 2022: Attends the retirement dinner of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon
Robredo, together with her daughters Aika, Tricia, and Jillian, attended the retirement and thanksgiving dinner of her ally, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.
Aika shared a photo of their family with Drilon, whom she fondly called as their “own version of Albus Dumbledore.” In the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore was considered to be the greatest and most powerful wizard of all time.
Drilon had played a key role in Robredo’s presidential campaign, serving as her political adviser and leading crucial negotiations with other candidates and local politicians. Both are stalwarts of the once-ruling Liberal Party.
Drilon, who became Senate president four times in his 24-year career as senator, is retiring from politics.
June 27: Honors her staff at the OVP in their last general assembly
It was a bittersweet day at the Quezon City Reception House (QCRH) as Robredo and her staff at the OVP held their final general assembly together. The Robredo-led team first attended a Holy Mass together before the program started at 3 pm.
OVP staff were in high spirits during the GA, where several awards were given out in recognition of their hard work these past six years. But things started to get emotional when Robredo’s chief-of-staff Undersecretary Philip Dy addressed the team and recalled key memories with them. “Whether it is fate or destiny, pipiliin at pipiliin ko na magsilbi sa inyo (I will always choose being of service to you),” Dy said.
The highlight of the afternoon, of course, was Robredo’s own farewell speech. The outgoing vice president dedicated most of her speech to calling each of the OVP units to join her onstage. She called most of them by name and would then share a memorable anecdote or two about the people working at that particular department.
When one of the OVP’s in-house helpers started to shed tears onstage, Robredo hugged her and told her not to cry. “Happy tayo… Mamaya, shot puno tayo!” joked Robredo, making her staff erupt in laughter.
The Vice President thanked her team for going above and beyond these past six years. She said she often gets the credit for the triumphs of the OVP, but the true heroes are her dedicated staff.
“‘Pag pinag-uusapan ‘yung triumphs ng OVP, lagi ako ‘yung mukha… Pero ‘yung hard work talagang sa inyo. Maraming taong nakapaligid sa akin, sila y’ung shock absorbers,” Robredo said.
(Whenever people talk about the triumphs of the OVP, I am always the face of it… But the hard work truly comes from you. Many of the people surrounding me have been my shock absorbers.)
“Hindi ako madaling boss, kasi demanding ako… Sobrang proud ako sa inyong lahat… Maraming gumagawa ng trabaho na wala na sa job description. Pero hindi tayo nakakita ng reklamo, hindi tayo nakakita ng galit,” she added.
(I am not an easy boss to work with, because I know I’m demanding… I am so proud of all of you… Many of you have done tasks already outside of your job description. But we never heard any complaints, any grudges from all of you.)
June 27: Passes on the torch as opposition leader to Senator Risa Hontiveros
Robredo began her last Monday in her vice presidency by christening the next leader of the Philippine opposition: Senator Risa Hontiveros.
The outgoing vice president administered Hontiveros’ oath, in effect passing on the baton to the sole opposition candidate to clinch a seat in the Senate in the 2022 elections.
“Ikaw na ‘yung lider namin (You’re our leader now),” Robredo told Hontiveros.
The Vice President also administered the oath of Iloilo 3rd District Provincial Board Member Jason Gonzales.
