LENI ROBREDO: I am not sure that my decision is wrong or right, because I only used my gut feel for this. ROMY HOMILLADA
MANILA, Philippines—Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo admitted she decided to run based on “gut feel” but rest assured, she knows her advocacies clearly and so are the measures she will propose once she get elected into office, she told in a radio interview Saturday morning.
“They gave me only two hours to decide,” she said, referring to her constituents who went to her house in Naga City on Friday to convince her to run for the 3rd congressional district of Camarines Sur.
Robredo also admitted she never considered even running for the local elections and as a grieving widow, she explained her involvement with politics went as far as accepting the leadership of the Liberal Party in the province.
“It was meant to continue what my husband left,” she said. When her husband, former interior and local government secretary Jesse Robredo, died she said she has set her mind on living a quiet, private life.
Then again, when she thought of Jesse and what he would have done if he were in her position, she said he won’t refuse the call of the people to serve them.
That’s why, she emphasized, despite the abrupt decision, there’s no chance for her to back-out. “That would be unfair to the people. I accepted to run, I gave them hope, so there’s no turning back.”
Asked if she fears facing powerful political opponents and the dirty tactics that come with the job, she said the only fear she has is not spending quality time with her three daughters. “They lost a father and I don’t want to be an absentee mother to them because of the requirements of the job.”
Then again, she said if she’s going to win, that would mean spending more time in Metro Manila than Naga City. She said it’s timely because all of her children will have to be based in Manila in June next year for their studies.
As for her advocacies, she said as a lawyer, she belongs to a group where the focus is the welfare of the youth, the peasants, laborers, fishermen and the plight of women.
“There are a lot of laws that need to be revised because they are not fit to the times anymore. There are gaps in terms of people participation. There are so many causes that need to be enacted into laws,” she said.
She said she admits she might be seen as a “fence-sitter” at the onset of her term.
“That’s why I’ll work hard to push for my advocacies and those left by my husband,” she said.