VICE-PRESIDENT Maria Leonor G. Robredo, in a statement on Friday, called on President Rodrigo R. Duterte to “use his podium to assure the people that he is on top” of the nation’s problems.
On Friday evening, she also spoke against “the winds of authoritarianism” and of “freedoms…being challenged in ways that are not seen in the last few decades” at ceremonies in honor of this year’s recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Ms. Robredo’s statement was in response to Mr. Duterte’s latest attack on the Vice-President, saying in part that the country is “better off choosing a dictator the likes of Marcos,” and that Ms. Robredo “cannot hack it (the presidency).”
The Vice-President called the President’s speech in Mandaue City on Thursday evening “recycled rants conveniently used to deflect attention from the failures of this administration.”
She added: “And while he may be intending to flatter me by keeping me at the top of his mind these days when he stands behind the seal of his office, I’d still prefer that he focus on the many important matters that he needs to address—as rising prices continue to make life difficult for our fellow Filipinos, especially for those in need.”
“Perhaps he can use his podium to assure the people that he is on top of these problems—and to use his power to intervene when his appointed officials struggle to come up with coherent solutions to the rising prices of rice and other basic commodities.”
“Despite these many problems, the drug war clearly remains highest on the President’s agenda, so much so that he is now pinning blame on a blind man.” Ms. Robredo said further, referring to his brother-in-law Butch Robredo, whom Mr. Duterte has accused of trafficking drugs in her hometown of Naga City.
Mr. Duterte on Thursday reaffirmed his accusation that Naga City, Ms. Robredo’s hometown, is a “hotbed of shabu.”
“Ang (It’s her) brother-in-law niya ang nagdala ng (who brought) drugs sa (to) Bicol. Totoo iyan. Siyempre (That’s true. Of course),” he added.
Ms. Robredo also said in her statement: “Perhaps instead of constantly repeating this ridiculous allegation, and throwing mud on the name of a city that thrives on good governance—and that staunchly supports the call to fight illegal drugs—he can turn his attention to the P6.8-billion shabu shipment that slipped past his customs officials, and not just shrug off the insistent report of his own PDEA chief regarding the magnetic lifters found in Cavite.”
Naga City was cited by the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation when Ms. Robredo’s late husband, Jesse M. Robredo, won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2000 for his administration as city mayor.
She also cautioned Mr. Duterte against “continuing to glorify a dictator who stole billions from our country, drove the nation into debt, and presided over the murder and imprisonment of thousands of Filipinos….”
Mr. Duterte on Thursday had also said, “If I stop now my crusade against drugs and if there is no order in this place, the Philippines, and corruption will continue, patay yun (it won’t work). I said you’re better off choosing a dictator the likes of Marcos. That’s what I suggested.”
“Puwede kayong magkaroon ng (You can follow the) constitutional succession, si Robredo, but she cannot hack it,” he also said.
Ms. Robredo faces an electoral protest by former senator Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
On Aug. 16, Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing, “If he (Mr. Marcos) becomes vice-president, perhaps the President will make true his word that he will step down. Because what he is worried about is that if we were to use constitutional succession, then the successor may not be qualified.”
On Friday, sought for comment by the media on Mr. Duterte’s remarks in Mandaue City, Mr. Roque said it was the President’s “personal belief” that “everyone can be better than the… Vice President. With all due respect to the Vice President, that’s a personal assessment made by the President.”
At the Ramon Magsaysay Awards ceremonies on Friday, Ms. Robredo acknowledged the presence of past awardees Hilario G. Davide Jr. and Conchita Carpio-Morales, as well as former president Fidel V. Ramos, former social welfare secretary Corazon J. Soliman, and the Magsaysay family including the late president ‘s son, former senator Ramon B. Magsaysay Jr.
Ms. Robredo cited President Magsaysay as a leader who “chose to listen and reach out to the poor when the winds of authoritarian rule were starting to sweep across many nations. He sparked an ethos that brought purpose to a region marred by poverty, inequality and violence.”
“Today, you and I live in another period of great tumultuous change,” she continued. “This is a time when many feel that darkness has almost eclipsed hope, when violence has become commonplace—even necessary. Many are saying they could hardly recognize what humanity has become.”
“Where is Asia in this era of transition?…The Asia we know carries a rich legacy of humanity, where despite the countless threats and attacks against humankind, we remain resilient, ensuring that human lives will not be snuffed out by any tyrant. We have had a long history of bloody struggles in very dark times, and I refuse to believe that we suffered them for nothing.”
“The Asia we know carries a rich legacy of leadership, where leaders inspire courage rather than fear, bringing out the best in our people rather than fanning the flames of our darkest inclinations.”
Ms. Robredo praised this year’s awardees, including Howard Dee of the Philippines who, among his other endeavors, “crafted a concerted response to life-threatening emergencies in Mindanao in Southern Philippines including Tabang Mindanao, which means Help Mindanao; and took up the cause of indigenous peoples rights through legislative advocacy, scholarships, leadership training, and IP development programs, like the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous People’s Foundation in Mindanao.”
“The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation was right in calling Mr. Dee ‘quietly heroic’in his half-century service to the Filipino people,” Ms. Robredo said.
She said further: “Quiet courage and empathy, and leaders that put in the hard work of actually transforming the lives of people, are rarities in these times, when dictatorship is claimed by some to be better.”
“When those trusted by the electorate threaten lives instead of protect them, divide the nation instead of unite it, attack people’s cherished beliefs instead of nourishing them, and present themselves only through bravado and empty promises as the antidote to what they say are outdated and decaying ideas like democracy, we don’t move towards a better future. We move towards a scorched-earth existence where people are killed, institutions are decimated, and our very way of life is threatened,” Ms Robredo also said.