Robredo thanks Duterte for Cabinet post offer

Administration vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo gestures during a press conference at Microtel Acropolis in Quezon City on May 10. INQUIRER PHOTO

If she wins the vice presidential race, Leni Robredo will be given a Cabinet position under the new administration.

Robredo’s camp has thanked presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte for his offer of a post in his Cabinet should she get elected.

“Nais naming samantalahin ang pagkakataong ito upang magpasalamat kay presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte sa kanyang pahayag na tayo’y bibigyan niya ng puwesto sa Gabinete sakaling tayo po’y manalo,” Robredo’s spokesperson Georgina Hernandez said in a media briefing at Microtel Acropolis in Quezon City on Friday.

In  earlier interviews, Robredo said she was not keen on holding a Cabinet position. Instead, she would like to focus on streamlining poverty alleviation programs to improve the lives of those living on the “fringes of the society (laylayan ng lipunan).”

“Noon pa man, sinabi na ni Cong. Leni na nais niyang pag-isahin ang iba’t ibang proyekto at programa ng pamahalaan na mag-aangat sa ating mga kababayan mula sa kahirapan at magbibigay sa kanila ng magandang buhay,” Hernandez said.

But the spokesperson said Robredo was open to the idea of running a Cabinet-level agency or department.

“Ngunit bukas rin po si Cong. Leni sa anumang posisyon sa Gabinete na kanyang ibibigay sa atin, na angkop sa kanyang kakayahan,” the spokesperson added.

Robredo is also pushing for more female Cabinet secretaries in the next administration.

“Let us give women more seats (at) the table and let them be partners in shaping policies and government initiatives that can drastically improve the way our programs address their needs when it comes to creating opportunities for better educational assistance, health care, employment,” the vice presidential candidate said in an earlier statement.

As of latest tally, Robredo has 14,007,442 votes, or 225,266 ahead of her closest rival Sen. Bongbong Marcos in the unofficial count. RC/rga