Vice President Leni Robredo. OVP file photo / Jay Ganzon
MANILA, Philippines — As the country ushers in the Holy Week under a health crisis for a second year, Vice President Leni Robredo urged Filipinos to support each other in getting through the challenges posed by the pandemic by spreading correct information and calling for an effective government response.
“In this time of pandemic, love means doing everything we can to protect the person next to us from infection. It means spreading correct information about the virus and the vaccines. It means calling for effective pandemic governance,” Robredo said in her Holy Week message Thursday.
She also underscored the need to extend help to those who need it.
“It means ensuring that the truth that binds us all is upheld. In this boundness, this shared experience of being human, nari-realize natin: Mas matatag tayo kung sama-sama dahil magkakarugtong ang buhay ng bawat indibidwal,” Robredo said.
(It means ensuring that the truth that binds us all is upheld. In this boundness, this shared experience of being human, we realize: We are stronger if we are together because our lives are weaved through one another.)
“Ang pagpapabaya sa isa ay pagpapabaya sa lahat, at ang mga pag-angat ng mga nasa laylayan ay pag-angat din ng lahat,” she added.
(If we neglect one person, we are neglecting everyone, and to lift up those in the fringe of society is lifting up all of us.)
She said the challenges brought about by the pandemic also bring in opportunities to extend help and love to others.
“Pagkakataong ipakita na bitbit natin ang ating kapwa, walang puwang ng pagkakanya-kanya. Sama-sama ang pagsulong, dahil itinuturing nating kapatid ang bawat isa,” she added.
(An opportunity to lift up one another, with no trace of thinking of only one’s self. We move forward together, because we treat each other as brothers and sisters.)
“In this time of crisis, sa sabay-sabay nating pagharap sa mga hamon ng pandemya, tinatawagan tayong mas lawakan pa yung saklaw ng minamahal natin. Pag-ibig sa kapwa ang pinakamaka-Diyos na layunin— and we pay God’s love forward by being there for our fellow human beings,” she further said.
(In this time of crisis, in facing the challenges of this pandemic together, we are being called to expand the scope of who we share our love with. Love for others is the most God-centered purpose—and we pay God’s love forward by being there for our fellow human beings.)
‘Revive faith, renew hope’
Robredo also said that while the observance of Holy Week has been limited to virtual Masses and other activities, she stressed that it does not lessen its true meaning.
“Hinihimok tayong gamitin yung pagkakataon para huminto sumandali at magnilay; to revive our faith and to renew our hopes. Hindi lang para maghintay, pero para maghanda sa muling pagkabuhay ng Panginoon,” she said.
(We are driven to use this time to stop and ponder; to revive our faith and renew our hopes. Not to wait, but to prepare for the resurrection of Jesus.)
“In Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, we see the ultimate sacrifice and shared humanity that binds us. We all feel grief at loss and suffering, but we also find hope that life will always prevail over death; that good will always win over evil; that light always shines amidst the darkness,” she added.
Quoting Pope Francis, Robredo said that “we find hope and we give hope by loving and following the footsteps of Christ.”
“Sabi nga ni Pope Francis [As what Pope Francis said], we were made by God for love, and love is the greatest expression of hope,” she said.
“Dagdag pa niya [He added that], love is not a mere sentiment; it is our most effective tool in building a new world—yung better normal na pinapangarap natin; isang lipunang mas patas, mas makatarungan, at mas makatao [the better normal that we are hoping for, a society that is more just, more fair, and more humane],” she added.
“Love is what allows us to see our fellow human beings as part of the same family, as our own brothers and sisters,” Robredo further said.