By Raymund Antonio
For her late husband and ex-Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, the success of her three daughters in their studies was like a dream come true, Vice President Leni Robredo said.
VP Leni Robredo (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
Aika, 30, graduated from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government after she earned her master’s in public administration last week.
Tricia had her coating ceremony on Saturday night, marking her entry into senior year at Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.
Jillian, the youngest of the three, will graduate from the Philippine Science High School on June 1. She has been accepted into the country’s top three universities and New York University.
“All these were his dreams,” the Vice President said on Sunday, the 60th birth anniversary of Jesse, also the longtime mayor of Naga City.
Family, friends, and supporters trooped to the city’s Museo ni Jesse Robredo, where they attended mass to commemorate his birth anniversary. The museum also unveiled an art installation followed by the ribbon cutting of the “Para Kay Jesse” exhibit.
The Vice President said the recent achievements of her daughters, a fulfillment to their father’s dream, was not a mere incident, which came on the 60th birthday of Jesse.
She attributed everything instead to her family’s destiny.
“This is a reminder of all our blessings, a reminder of our bigger obligations for the blessings we received,” Robredo, a former housing chief, told reporters in Naga City.
The Vice President remembered that her husband only had simple and quite birthday celebrations when he was still alive. He also never missed work during his birthday.
“Our tradition was to hear mass early. It was the first mass in the morning. Then after the mass, he will go to the office. It was always a regular working day. He was never absent because it was his birthday,” she said in Filipino.
“In our family, we are not into parties. When he was in the city hall, the employees were the ones who surprised him. That was the same when he was in DILG,” Robredo narrated.
“We always prefer a celebration of having dinner with the family. We like a quiet celebration. We’re not fond of grand celebrations with many visitors," she added.
The Vice President received a commemorative Senior Citizen’s identification card from the Naga city government as a birthday gift for her husband.