Nine years after former Interior secretary Jesse Robredo died unexpectedly in a plane crash, his daughters—Aika, Tricia, and Jillian—with Vice President Leni Robredo remember how he was always present in their lives despite being Naga City’s mayor for almost two decades.
Robredo won as Naga City mayor shortly after the People Power revolt overthrew the late dictator, former President Ferdinand Marcos, and held that position for 19 years.
But even as he got married and had three children along the way while turning his hometown with his tsinelas-style leadership, Robredo made sure to make every second with his daughters worth it.
Aika, his eldest, said that she will always remember their father for being “regularly available” to them.
“Iyong pinaka naalala ko kapag naglu-look back ako na sa aming lima dati, parang siya ‘yung pinaka hindi busy kapag hinahanap namin (When I look back when it was still the five of us, it feels like he wasn’t the busiest one when we look for him),” she said in the virtual event, “Usapang Pogi,” a nine-part series exploring the different roles of the late Interior secretary in the lives of his close friends and family.
Aika said Robredo was even the one who will feel miffed if his daughters and wife did not have enough time to answer his texts.
“Parati niyang sinasabi, ‘Grabe naman kayo. Huwag ninyong sabihin mas busy pa kayo lahat sa akin’ (He always say, ‘You are all too much. Don’t tell me you’re all busier than me’),” she shared.
READ: Robredo, daughters celebrate Father’s Day without Jesse
Tricia, in fact, can still vividly remember the former Naga City mayor in one of her swimming events. She and Jillian were competitive swimmers.
“When it comes to any of our events, any of our milestones, parang unspoken rule to drop everything,” she said, adding that their father made sure that they were the most important to him.
She remembered the one time she joined a swimming competition and Jesse wasn’t still there when she was about to dive. But midway to the end, she raised her head for a stroke and saw her father standing at the end of the line.
Believed by many to be Robredo’s look-a-like, Jillian, who is now studying in New York, was only 12 when their father died nine years ago.
That time, she was into her “fan girl” mode as she was into Justin Bieber, One Direction, and even local celebrities. She remembers her father making it a point for her to meet these celebrities whenever he can do something about it.
Jillian also gave a glimpse into what the late Naga mayor was like as a husband to the vice president, who, at that time, was working as a human rights lawyer.
She said that the two used to engage in “PDA (public display of affection),” and that their father used to want to wear matching shirts with his wife and called her “loves” and “bok.”
READ: ‘The better half of me’: VP Leni remembers late hubby Jesse on his birthday
Maybe because they were all girls, but Tricia revealed that the vice president was the “disciplinarian” of the two while their father was “indulgent.”
So, how would they describe their father, who was fondly referred to as “pogi (handsome)” in their hometown? Aika said he was consistent while Tricia described him as “makulit (child-like).” For Jillian, her father was “malambing (sweet).”
The Usapang Pogi organized by the Jesse M. Robredo Foundation is “a month-long series of activities that are geared towards reliving and perpetuating the late Secretary’s legacy of Tsinelas Leadership and good governance,” a statement said.
“In a few days, we will be commemorating Jesse's 9th Death Anniversary. Can't believe it's been 9 years!!,” the vice president posted on her Facebook page.
The first installment with the Robredo sisters was aptly entitled “Tatay Pogi,” while the next episodes will feature the late Interior secretary’s former workmates, family, friends, and boss. On September 17 and 24, the vice president will talk about her husband in a two-part episode.