Vice President Leni Robredo said Sunday that true leaders should inspire their supporters to do good and not the opposite, especially now the country is battling the coronavirus pandemic and reeling from the impact of recent typhoons.
(Photo by Charlie Villegas / OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In her weekly radio show, “BISErbsiyong Leni,” Robredo said the behavior of some public officials’ followers, who spread lies and misinformation, reflects their type of leadership.
“Kapag nai-inspire mo iyong tao na maging sinungaling, kapag nai-inspire mo iyong tao na lahat kabastusan iyong lumalabas sa bibig, reflection iyon sa iyo (When you inspire people to become liars and spew foul words out of their mouth, that reflects on you),” she said.
On the same day, Robredo also tweeted, “Leaders who bring out the worst in people are not what our country needs.”
The past weeks saw the Vice President addressing trolls who were spreading fake news and hurling threats against her and her family on social media platforms.
Just the other day, she warned netizens of a fake Facebook account impersonating her second daughter, Tricia, who is supposedly sending hate messages online.
Robredo did not name anyone, but she noted some of her fellow public officials have been behind the disinformation campaign.
“Iyong naniniwala sa kasinungalingan mo, iyon iyong nabiktima mo, hindi iyong object ng kasinungalingan (Those who believe your lies are your victims, not the object of your lies),” she said.
The Vice President said she does not believe in the “Messianic complex” among public officials, instead urging them to bring the best in their supporters.
“Para sa akin, hindi ako naniniwala na iyong parang Messianic complex na ‘ako iyong savior ng lahat,’ walang ganoon, eh. (I don’t believe in the Messianic complex that ‘I’m the savior of all,’ there is no such thing),” she said.
“Iyong para sa akin, ang solusyon ng mga suliranin natin nasa atin mismo (For me, we have the solution to our problems ourselves),” Robredo said.