MANILA, Philippines — In a lighter-than-usual FM radio interview last March, Vice President Leni Robredo answered questions about her parenting style, being a mother to three girls.
She described herself as a “tiger mom” — an urban slang for Asian mothers who have imposed strict rules on their children, aside from prodding them to achieve more.
A post by her daughter Tricia on Facebook post showed that description might actually be close to being accurate.
In her birthday greeting for her mother, who turned 54 on Tuesday, April 23, Tricia admitted she used to her as she was more “stern”compared to their father, the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.
“Between you and Papa, you’ve always been the stern parent, who I’m sure we all feared at one point. He was more indulgent and sentimental, while you were more structured and stoic,” Tricia said in her post.
“Instead of congratulating us after our events, you’d ask us why our strokes were a little off and why we swam half a second slower than our best times. Instead of letting us rest after weekday dinners, you’d ask us to go through our piano pieces several times until we achieved a clean run. Crying or not,” she said in jest.
Tricia also confessed that she initially did not understand her mother’s decisions, especially her emotions — or the lack thereof — during tense situations. However, as she grew up, she eventually realized that it served a bigger purpose.
“Growing up, it’s been difficult to understand your ways. I often wondered whether you were still human for showing minimal emotion in situations that would normally elicit intense reactions,” Tricia explained.
“But now that I’m older, I realize that the feelings have actually always been there. They just won’t get in the way of doing what we have to do,” she said.
Like any other young woman, Tricia, the second of Robredo’s daughters, revealed that she also had her share of heartbreaks and failure. It was all normal, and Robredo’s response was also the type of remarks people typically see from Filipino parents.
“The night of my first heartbreak, the most comforting words I heard from you were “bata ka pa anak aral ka na” lol. The day I fussed over an important exam, you expressed frustration over my panicking and my lack of confidence, instead of just wishing me luck,” Tricia relayed.
“And whenever I complain about inconveniences and awful experiences at the workplace, your replies have always been consistent – stay focused, do your work, and be kind anyway. Although you sat quite uncomfortably, you still stayed up with me until I was done crying, even when you had to leave at 3AM for fieldwork the next day,” she added.
According to her though, it was these moments that made her more prepared for the challenges she has faced.
“But when it’s all done, you’d make sure that I tied my hair back, rolled up my sleeves, and powered the heck through. You were never the type to tell us to follow our hearts, because you are the first to ask us to keep it in check. And in a world where it would be excusable to fall into the cycle of bickering, breaking and living in hate, you wouldn’t take excuses and you’d remind us to stay our course,” Tricia noted.
“I still stumble at times, but I would’ve done a lot worse if it weren’t for you. You are my North Star, Mama. Happy birthday, I love you,” she ended.
/atm