Vice President Leni Robredo appears to be setting politics aside in offering to help President Duterte in the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Robredo said she is open to the possibility of working with the administration if she is given a role in the government’s COVID-19 response efforts.
“Willing naman po ako parati (I’m always willing),” Robredo said when asked about the matter in an interview on Wednesday with DYRC Aksyon Radyo Cebu.
“Tingin ko responsibilidad ko, na kung may binibigay sa akin na trabaho, talagang gagawin ko (I think it is my responsibility if I’m given a job, I’ll do it),” she said.
The Vice President stressed that the public health crisis is a time for everyone to be united and set aside politics.
“Dapat wala munang iniisip na politika, wala munang iniisip na mga personal na mga agenda na isinusulong, kasi panahon ito na magtulung-tulungan tayo (We should not think of politics and personal agenda because this is a time that we should help each other),” she said.
President Duterte appointed Robredo in 2016 as head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), but she resigned from her post after she was barred from attending Cabinet meetings.
In November last year, she was appointed as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), but her stint only lasted for 18 days after she was fired by Duterte due to mistrust and alleged incompetence to handle the job.
Robredo has initiated her own assistance drive to complement the efforts of the national government in response to COVID-19.
Her office, in partnership with the private sector, has provided protective gear, free shuttle service and dormitories, and food packs, among other assistance for frontliners in Metro Manila and Cebu City.
“Ang hinahanap ko lang parati, paano makakatulong iyong opisina namin. Kung saan iyong may gaps, doon kami (What I always look for is how our office can be of help. We just fill the gaps),” Robredo said.