Vice President Leni Robredo is not new to politics and power, having been the daughter of a regional trial court judge and the wife of a mayor for almost two decades, but she has a simple formula for not succumbing to the privileges that come with these positions.
The lesson she learned from being involved in politics since marrying her husband, the late former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who was also Naga City’s mayor for 19 years, is to “keep yourself in check.”
“When you have power, parang (it’s like) some things get so easy—you know, the privileges. So kami mayroon kaming laging sinasabi sa bawat isa na ‘Huwag tayo niyan, kasi baka masanay tayo’ (So, we always tell each other ‘Let’s not do that, we might get used to it’),” Robredo told host Bianca Gonzales on her podcast.
While she does not want to claim that she’s better than everybody else, the vice president believes it’s important to be aware of what power does to a person.
“When you want to know who that person really is, give him power... Pero (But)the awareness that power will change you, it helps. It helps to keep yourself in check,” she said.
This was so valuable to her and to her late husband who served Interior and local governments secretary that it was part of their routine to talk about the “thin line between decisions.”
When he was still alive, Robredo said she and her husband would usually drive around Naga City with him checking if all streetlights were working, while talking about how their days went and what issues they had to face.
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Many times, they had to talk about “the privileges that come with power” such as a friend offering something for free or cutting in line at the airport.
She remembered always joking around with her husband: “Baka hanap-hanapin natin. Kapag nasanay tayo, hanap-hanapin natin (We might look for it. If we get used to it (the privileges), we might start looking for them).”
The late Jesse Robredo was known for his unique brand of tsinelas (slippers) leadership, a belief that everyone—especially those at the grassroots—should be involved in governance. He was known for his simplicity, often wearing a simple barong to work even as people gift him with more expensive shirts and shoes.
Robredo said it has been very helpful to who she is as a person to have someone “who helps you check yourself.
READ: Robredo: True leaders know their people’s needs
Even now that she does not have her husband with her anymore, the vice president keeps a list of the situations she faces now that she’s in a position of power.
“Na nililista iyong ano ba iyong mga pinagdaanan during the day na baka may thin line sa (I list what I went through during the day because there might be a thin line) between what is right and wrong. Baka hindi naman wrong pero baka masanay. Sa akin, I think iyon iyon (It might not be wrong, but I might get used to it. For me, I think that’s it). How to keep ourselves in check if we are given those privileges,” she said.
This practice keeps her in check, as well as the belief that it is not the bad times that reveal a person, but the moments in which that person gains power.