Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo from her Facebook account)
For Vice President Leni Robredo, 2017 has not been a good year for Filipinos, at least in terms of unity.
“Tingin ko hindi naging maganda iyong 2017 as far as pagkakaisa is concerned—masyadong polarized iyong mga Pilipino noong mga nakaraang buwan at nakaraang taon,” Robredo said in an interview on Thursday.
(I think 2017 has never been good for Filipinos as far as unity is concerned—Filipinos are more polarized these past few months and this past year.)
That’s why for the coming year, Robredo hopes that that country be healed from divisiveness, calamities, as well as violence and killings.
“Kaya iyong wish natin, na sana maiwasan na iyong mga ganito. Maiwasan na iyong away, maiwasan na iyong patayan, at magkaisa tayong mga Pilipino,” she said.
(That’s why I wish that we could do away with these. Do away with the infightings, killings and I hope Filipinos will unite.)
Robredo had staunchly opposed the killings committed in the name of the government’s war against drugs, which had claimed lives of over 12,000 individuals according to human rights groups.
READ: Robredo echoes calls to stop ‘drug war’ killings
The Vice President also lamented the deaths of Filipinos in calamities despite the government’s efforts to aim for zero casualty during typhoons and natural disasters.
“Matagal na nating pinagtatrabahuhan na zero casualty sana tayo sa mga sakuna, pero iyong tanong ngayon, bakit ang daming namatay? Tingin ko panahon ito para i-assess ulit kung ano iyong mali na ginagawa natin,” she said.
(We have long been aiming for zero casualty in every calamity, but the question is why is there a lot of casualty? I think it is high time to assess again our commitment and see what we did wrong.) /jpv