MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo said she has no regrets about her stint or failed presidential bid, saying that she would do everything all over again if given a chance, despite knowing what the results would be.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, her final day at the Quezon City Reception House, which has been her office’s headquarters for the longest time, Robredo was asked if she had any regrets over her six-year term and her presidential candidacy in the 2022 polls.
Robredo replied that at the outset, she already knew it would be an uphill battle given the circumstances — but she would not mind doing it all over again.
“Ang baba ng numbers ko […] kasi grabe iyong disinformation, trolling, bashing na natanggap ko. Nag-decide ako, three percent to seven percent (ako), pang-anim, pang-pito ako sa tinitingnan na pangalan. At the end of this, nag desisyon ako kumandidato without any expectations. Gagawin ko lang ito as a call of duty. Itatawid ko lang ito not expecting anything because of my numbers,” she said.
(My numbers were really low because of the disinformation, trolling, bashing that I received. So I decided to run even if I only got three to seven percent of the votes in mock polls, I was seventh or eighth. Ultimately, I decided to run without any expectations, that I would do it as a call of duty. I would see through it, not expecting anything because of my numbers.)
“But during the campaign, hindi ko inaasahan iyong movement na mabubuo. Iyong volunteerism sa OVP, nagawa siya many times over. Tao talaga ang gumagalaw. From seven percent, it reached 28 percent. Malaking blessing na iyon. Kahit hindi ako nanalo, if I have to do it all over again knowing what the results would be, I will still do it,” she added.
(But during the campaign, I did not expect this movement to take shape. This volunteerism at the OVP, was done many times over. People really moved our campaign. From seven percent, I reached 28 percent. That was a big blessing, that’s why even if I didn’t win, if I’d have to do it all over again knowing what the results would be, I would still do it.)
Vice President Leni Robredo. Image from her Facebook page
No longer just a ceremonial office
Robredo also said that transforming the Office of the Vice President (OVP) from a ceremonial office to an advocacy-driven one is a success, as she believes they were able to help Filipinos despite a limited mandate and budget.
“Converting the OVP from a mere ceremonial one into an advocacy heavy one (is an achievement). ‘Yon ang number one. Kasi ‘yong core na ngayon ng programa, ung magtransform ng communities through our programs. Kasi ung nadatnan namin dito, parang ung pinakaano niya, ung medical assistance,” Robredo said.
(Converting the OVP from a mere ceremonial one into an advocacy-heavy one is an achievement. That’s number one. Because the core of the programs is to transform communities through our programs. Because when we arrived here, we saw programs centered on medical assistance.)
“While sobrang daming natutulungan ng medical assistance, tingin kasi namin ano siya, hindi siya masyadong progressive in the sense na hindi mo nababago yung paniniwala, yung pagtingin about how government should be. So ung pangalawa don, na naipakita namin na despite many limitations, kayang ayusin ung opisina,” she added.
(While we help so many people through medical assistance, we think it is not that progressive in that you cannot change people’s minds on how the government should be. So that’s the second thing, that we were able to show that despite many limitations, we can fix the office.)
The OVP under Robredo has been a constant recipient of several awards for streamlining services and its management system, aside from being given an unqualified opinion by the Commission on Audit (COA) — the highest possible rating that the commission can give to an office.
READ: OVP gets ISO recertification for quality management system
Just earlier, the outgoing Vice President confirmed that COA gave their office an unqualified opinion for the fourth consecutive year — meaning that the office could present its financial reports satisfactorily.
Robredo embarked on a presidential bid for the 2022 national elections, despite ranking low initially in surveys last October 2021. The Vice President’s numbers eventually surged, but they were not enough to defeat the eventual winner, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Marcos got over 31 million votes compared to Robredo’s 15 million votes.
Despite her loss, a vast movement emerged from Robredo’s people’s campaign — which some sectors believe could translate to a new face for the opposition.