Vice President Leni Robredo during the second installment of the Pilipinas Debates 2022: The Turning Point last April 3, 2022, at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. (VP Leni Media Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo “will make every peso count” in leading the country’s post-pandemic recovery, a former deputy governor of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Thursday, citing the presidential bet’s “catalog of resibos.”
Former BSP deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo pointed out how the Robredo “outperformed” other agencies with bigger budget allocations.
He said this is “a skill set we need in the post-COVID era.”
“The next president must be able to judiciously utilize scarce resources,” Guinigundo said in a statement released by the Team Leni-Kiko slate group to reporters.
Guinigundo added that “Robredo is the only one with executive experience to make every peso count” compared to other presidential candidates.
“Gusto natin ng lider na responsible at maabilidad, ‘yung kayang mag-budget ng pera sa tahanan at pagkasyahin ang maliit na halaga para sa maghapong gastos ng pamilya,” he said.
(We want a leader who is responsible and is capable, someone who can budget our money and make a small amount work.)
Her ability “to do with less is the leadership the country needs as it recovers from the pandemic while saddled with a huge deficit,” he added.
“She was able to maximize the Office of the Vice President’s allocation to fund an operation truly national in scope,” he further said.
Guinigundo also said the vice president has no qualms “rolling up her sleeves” to address the public’s needs.
“Si VP Leni ‘yung leader na sasabay sayo sa bus o magmo-motor para lamang makarating sa mga lugar na kailangan ng tulong,” he said.
“Hindi yung leader na magde-demand ng first class seat sa eroplano dahil hindi sanay sa economy.”
According to Guinigundo, the country will be facing an era when COVID-hit economy will not be able to contribute revenues that can substantially finance a national budget that addresses the people’s needs.
But a Robredo presidency will provide “the necessary ingredients to kickstart the economy,” according to the former BSP official.
“One, she will inspire market confidence. She will attract investors who will be lured that an economist is at the helm. They will see her as both fair to labor, capital and consumers,” he said.
Further, he stressed that Robredo’s anti-corruption stance “will assure taxpayers that what they pay will not be stolen or wasted.”
“Para kay Juan de la Cruz, mas panatag sya magbayad ng tamang buwis kasi nakakaseguro sya na maibabalik sa kanya sa pamamagitan ng tamang serbisyo at magandang proyekto,” he said.
(For Juan de la Cruz, they will be more comfortable paying their taxes because they are sure that they will benefit from this through the proper service and good projects.)