President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President-elect Leni Robredo (INQUIRER, CDN PHOTOS)
Amid the outrage over President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s crass pronouncements against several institutions and issues, Vice President-elect Leni Robredo maintains her support for the foul-mouthed incoming chief executive but at the same time stands firm on her principles, particularly on women’s rights.
“For my part, I reiterate my full support and best wishes for the incoming administration, and I assure our people that I will always stand firm on the principles that have guided my entire career as a public interest lawyer, a women’s rights advocate, and a public servant,” Robredo said in a statement to the media on Friday.
“I have always taken the position that we should give our full support to our newly elected President,” she said. “When we help him to succeed, we are helping our nation, and ourselves, succeed.”
The outgoing Camarines Sur representative said the people could show their support for the President-elect by giving him “other perspectives in various issues to broaden his view.”
“Supporting him means doing what we can to help him serve our people, and our nation, the best that he can. This includes providing, with the other members of his team, other perspectives on various issues to broaden his view, and afford him the breadth of vision that is so essential to the leader of our nation,” Robredo said.
“The Philippines has long played a leading role in the promotion of human rights and the advancement of gender equality. I trust our country’s leaders will continue to uphold this honorable legacy in every word and deed,” she added.
But Robredo also called for vigilance, pointing out that Duterte’s statements and actions would be an “indicator of official policy.”
“It is testament to the power and prestige of the presidency that each statement and each action of our leader is taken as an indicator of official policy,” she said.
“Hence the need for constant vigilance and circumspection, to avoid raising any unnecessary concern, particularly over issues as sensitive as the murder of journalists and the treatment of women in our society.”
Robredo, who is also a lawyer, also said that she continued to believe in the promise of Duterte, a former state prosecutor, that he would observe the rule of law and uphold the rights of women.
“I continue to be reassured by the President-elect’s repeated assertions that he will uphold the rule of law, as well as by his strong record of promoting women’s rights during his service as Davao City mayor,” she said.
But Robredo hopes that “these commitments will be more clearly reflected in his public pronouncements.”
Duterte came under fire for downplaying “catcalling” as an expression of his admiration toward a female reporter during a press conference in Davao City last Tuesday.
He also earned the ire of local and international media groups for justifying the killings of “corrupt” journalists.