By Raymund Antonio For Vice President Leni Robredo, it is courage and empathy that transform people’s lives, not dictatorship. Vice President Leni Robredo
(FEDERICO CRUZ / MANILA BULLETIN) Robredo, a longtime human rights lawyer, said this in a speech during the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards ceremony Friday night with apparent allusion to President Rodrigo Duterte. “Quiet courage and empathy, and leaders that put in the hard work of actually transforming the lives of people, are rarities in these times, when dictatorship is claimed by some to be better,” she said. Robredo did not name the president, but she could only be referring to Duterte after the latter again took a swipe on her competence for saying that he is “better off with a dictator” than Robredo, his constitutional successor. In her message, the Vice President also called out public officials who threaten lives instead of protecting them and divide the nation by attacking other people’s beliefs. “When those trusted by the electorate threaten lives instead of protecting them, divide the nation instead of unite it, attack people’s cherished beliefs instead of nourishing them, and present themselves only through bravado and empty promises as the antidote to what they say are outdated and decaying ideas like democracy, we don’t move towards a better future,” she said, in apparent reference to Duterte. These, according to Robredo, lead to a “scorched-earth existence where people are killed, institutions are decimated, and our very way of life is threatened.” The Vice President was the guest speaker for the Ramon Magsaysay Awards ceremony at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for three consecutive years since she assumed office in 2016. Her late husband, Naga City Mayor and later Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, received the award for Government Service 18 years ago. Robredo praised this year’s six Ramon Magsaysay awardees, whom she described as “perfect examples of defiant hope.” The awardees are Howard Dee of the Philippines, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz of East Timor, Sonam Wangchuk and Bharat Vatwani, both from India, Youk Chhang of Cambodia, and Vo Thi Hoang Yen from Vietnam. “This kind of hope begins from knowing and being proud of who we are as a region. Let us never forget that the Asia we know carries a rich legacy of democracy, where men and women throughout time, fight for freedom and independence; where demanding for truth is the norm; and where power resides in the hands of the people,” she said. The Vice President went on to recognize the new awardees for their “grit and determination,” and as “courageous and hardworking heroes” for their valuable contribution to society. “Our grit and determination have shown us, that in a world marred by anger and division, hope is still the greatest weapon. That real heroes like you derive strength, not from fear and intimidation, but from compassion,” she said. “You are the ultimate proof that quiet bravery is the most potent kind of strength, and that empathy belies a deeper kind of power, not weakness. Quiet, courageous, and hardworking heroes are our last line of defense for humanity to avoid such a future,” added Robredo. The awards were named after Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay, who died in a plane crash in 1957. It is regarded as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.