Robredo: Don’t trust strongman politics
Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday told Makati businessmen that the country needed men and women who would “inspire others not just to follow but to lead as well” and set aside their personal agenda to effectively engage and start working with the people.
Speaking on the theme, “The Filipino in the Face of Adversity,” before the Rotary Club of Makati at The Peninsula Manila, Robredo said people should not trust leaders who employ strongman politics and populist rhetoric “to maintain support and legitimacy.”
“Experts have pointed out that this is because the large swathes of poor populations across the globe are tired and frustrated of promises for prosperity which always seem out of reach, even as they see on television and social media how the rich are getting richer and more powerful,” Robredo said.
Quandary
The Vice President said that 30 years since the return of democracy in the country, poverty was still rampant and causing disillusionment with democracy.
“We still find ourselves in a quandary. Why does our nation still seem to be broken? Why don’t things seem to work, including airports, traffic and broadband?” Robredo said.
“Our country has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the region but growth still has not reached many parts of the country due to years and years of uneven development and perhaps neglect,” she said.
“Recently, we have seen how prices have spiked and the peso value has crunched. Some of our businesses may be affected,” she told the businessmen.
“But look around us, the poor suffer so much more. And some of us see this as a sign that democracy has failed our nation,” she added.
Saviors
She said that with change and progress still slow, it was understandable that many people supported messiah-type leaders.
“Nowadays, much is being said about the massive change our country needs and is still waiting for. Out of desperation, many have clung to self-proclaimed saviors who have promised the sweetest, if not the most brazen, of solutions,” she said.
Robredo said people should not lose hope.
