Organized, discipline, and preparedness are the three things Vice President Leni Robredo and eldest daughter Aika have in common.
The vice president once said Aika stood as her partner in raising her two other daughters, Tricia and Jillian, when former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo passed away in August 2012.
It looked like the years they have spent together rearing their family have made Aika more like her mother.
“I guess subconsciously na-pick ko ‘yung pagiging (I picked up being) organized and disciplined. I don’t know if ‘yung inclination ko (that’s my inclination) ever since na (but) I guess I like the feeling na (that) at least over your own sphere of control may kontrol ka talaga (you really have control),” Aika said in a podcast episode of TEA-ta Talk with Twitter Titas on Wednesday night.
She also learned the importance of preparedness from her mom.
Aika said a lot of people don’t prepare enough for things that might come their way.
“Siguro iyong theory kasi namin (Maybe because our theory) is the more prepared you are, the better you would be at winning things. Fix as much as you can and then ‘pag dating sa point kailangan mo mag-adjust (when the time comes that you have to adjust) I think you would be at better at it than kung bara-bara ka parati (if you will proceed without thought),” she added.
At home, Aika said they share in the household chores, depending on their schedules.
“I think, kami, we adjust depending kung sino yung busy o hindi. Medyo aware naman kami sa nangyayari sa bawat isa so parang hindi naman siya ganoon kalaking (I think, for us, we adjust depending on who’s busy or not. We are aware what happens to each one of us, so it’s a big) challenge for all of us,” she shared.
Her sister, Tricia, is a doctor who now works in a hospital in Metro Manila, while their youngest, Jillian, is at New York University pursuing a degree in biomolecular science.
Aika and the vice president share the responsibilities of cooking for the family. As someone who rarely goes out, she said “it just makes more sense for me to do more at home.”
Meanwhile, the mother and daughter also have their fair share of “budol buys,” referring to a popular term on social media about falling for good deals on online stores.
“Hindi ako ma-shop online pero meron ko cases na talagang sunod-sunod bili ko sa Lazada. Sa akin, lahat pangkusina (I don’t really shop online but there are cases when I bought successively from Lazada. For me, all are kitchen items),” Robredo shared.
Aika agreed that she and her mom mostly stay in the kitchen since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, so that’s why they tend to notice everything in the room.
But as for the activity that they want to do together, Aika said they don’t plan any activities at night, so they mostly just hang out in the living room. Sometimes, they work together or when there’s a bit of downtime, they catch whatever they can find on Netflix or YouTube.
They usually watch random blogs about skin care and recipes, as well as movies, she added.