An Uprising of a Woman: Leni Robredo against old-fashioned
Presidentiables
In a country where most constituents are traditional, and leaders that hold the power to control
the society, may it be through a government position or a large amount of wealth, this kind of
system has become the norm in the Philippines.
In the history of the Philippine government, corruption has always been one of the well-known
problems that our country is bearing. This has often become the promise of most electoral
candidates before they win their desired positions on the Philippine government, but why are we
still encountering such problems like corruption, if it has been prevalent for decades now? We
have been seeking a change that these government officials have promised before but we have
yet to acquire this certain change in our society.
For the 2022 elections, there are more or less 94 aspirants for the presidential seat. One of these
candidates is the current vice president of the Philippines, Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo. She is
currently 56 years old, and a mother to her three children. Leni Robredo is a Filipina lawyer who
has served in the Public Attorney’s Office for quite some time in her political career. Being a victim
of certain fake news through the course of her vice-presidential occupancy, she continued to make
things work.
Leni Robredo spearheaded programs under the Office of the Vice President. One of these
programs is the ‘Angat Buhay’ Program, which is her anti-poverty program that benefited 83, 707
families across the first year of its implementation. During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, she
was actively implementing her projects that were about providing assistance in certain aspects, to
the Filipinos who are affected by the pandemic. One notable project of the vice president during
the pandemic was when the OVP provided a free shuttle service to frontline workers. A total of
₱17.3 million was raised for these donations, including food and care packages for the health
workers and their families.
Despite being criticized by other government officials, and by the president himself, Leni Robredo
maintains her activeness in fulfilling her duties as the vice president and doing more than she was
asked to do. She was very active in providing relief and assistance during the Covid-19 crisis and
has recently unveiled her eight-point pandemic response and recovery plan, known as the
‘Kalayaan sa Covid’ plan.
Her educational background and her recent accomplishments as the vice president of the country
can serve as evidence as to what she can do when she wins the presidential bid in the 2022
elections.