Robredo: No prosperity under strongman rule
“PROSPERITY does not depend on one man’s ability to wield power,” Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo said on Tuesday.
Robredo’ statement was part of a speech she delivered before the Rotary Club of Makati where she appealed for help for her office’s flagship anti-poverty program Angat Buhay which links the private sector to poor communities based on research provided by her office.
“Leaders around the world are applying the strongman rule to seek support and legitimacy. Yes, those in power should have done more, pushed for inclusivity so that the wealth is not limited to the hands of the few. But prosperity is best fulfilled when every Filipino does his or her part,” Robredo said.
“Prosperity does not depend on one man’s ability to wield power. Yes, political will is needed, but it is never about brute force or aggressive behavior,” Robredo said.
In May, Time Magazine featured President Rodrigo Duterte, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on its cover with the head: The Rise of a Strongman.
All were elected leaders but were known to have jailed critics in their respective countries.
Vice President Leni Robredo CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Duterte has denied that he is a strongman, saying that he has never sent anyone to jail for criticizing him.
Opposition Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, has been in detention since February 2017 on drug-related charges.
Instead of being impeached as mandated under the 1987 Constitution, then Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, another Duterte critic, was removed from office via quo warranto petition that Solicitor General Jose Calida had filed against her before the Supreme Court.
Voting 8-6, the high court granted Calida’s petition that sought Sereno’s ouster from office for failing to submit the required statements of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN) when she applied for the position of chief justice in 2012.
Robredo herself is fighting for her position as closest rival and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos protested the results of the 2016 vice presidential elections, citing fraud. A recount is ongoing before the Special Electoral Tribunal (SET). LLANESCA T. PANTI
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