Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Thursday urged Filipinos to speak out and be brave amid the “polarization that’s sweeping across our country.”
This as Robredo noted that despite the limitations of her office in executing projects, she had taken the role of being a conduit between private corporations and local government units to help victims of poverty and homelessness.
“This requires not just collaboration and skill, but also bravery. At a time when there’s fixation on drugs and criminality, threats to life bandied around casually, when our very liberties and very way of life is under attack, standing up and speaking out can be difficult,” Robredo said in her speech before the Phinma Properties forum on poverty in Makati City.
“But now, more than ever, we must act with audacity and move forward without fear. Now, more than ever, we must learn to harness inclusivity, despite the polarization that’s sweeping across our country and even the world,” she said.
Robredo, who has been the frequent target of social media attacks by avid supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte, said people should not allow anyone’s personal attacks to affect them.
“We cannot let ourselves be held down by frustration, nor allow our day to be ruined by someone else’s vicious attack,” she said.
“Let’s stay on the side of light, instead of the darkness.”
The Vice President, who vocally opposed certain policies of the Duterte administration including the rising number of drug killings and reinstatement of the death penalty, then said: “Choose love over hate; life over death!”
“We do not want bloodshed or brutality,” she said.
“We want a Philippines where every individual can dream freely, where justice is not beyond reach, and where equality holds sway,” Robredo added.
In December last year, Robredo resigned from Duterte’s Cabinet as the head of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council after Malacañang asked her to stop attending meetings there.
Malacañang later cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason behind its instruction to Robredo./rga
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