Vice President Leni Robredo had to spend the last two weeks in quarantine after being exposed to a COVID-19 positive close-in security, but she used her time well.
If she was not attending to her office’s various projects, Robredo can be found reading books about women leaders such as former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice and women’s rights advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg and current U.S Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Robredo noted that it was her “first day out of quarantine” on Monday, April 26.
“I was able to finish two books while locked up in my room: My Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg which was a gift from Atty Alexandria Fernando, daughter of my OB Gyn, Dra Eden Fernando, who delivered my 3 daughters, and Madame Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, which I bought online,” she said in a Facebook post.
Ginsburg co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and until her death last year, has fought against gender discrimination.
Pelosi is a seasoned veteran politician known as a tough-talking savvy negotiator who rose to the ranks to become the United States’ first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.
Robredo shared that her chief of staff, Philip Dy, and his wife, Bernice, also gave her a copy of “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel.
“I read reviews of this and have been wanting to get hold of my own copy but it’s not available here yet. So yay!! Thank you, Boyet and Bernice,” said Robredo, who also used the heart emoticon.
The vice president is an avid book reader. Since she has a habit of going into quarantine after visiting provinces to oversee her office’s projects, she spends that time reading books or watching Korean dramas.
In the past, she has shared similar books about politics, leadership, feminism, and the fight for social justice and equal rights.
But aside from reading books, Robredo has also been helping in the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) free medical teleconsult initiative called Bayanihan E-Konsulta.
As they receive thousands of requests for medical advice every day, Robredo has been manning the lines to coordinate requests with their volunteer doctors.