Vice President Leni Robredo is that kind of a “bad cop”-slash-cool mom you’ll want for your own. She lets her children watch TV on weekdays, allows them to get dirty when playing, and doesn’t require them to have academic honors.
During the second episode of her podcast with host and vlogger Bianca Gonzalez, Robredo said she was more “relaxed” and not at all “uptight” as a mother to her three daughters—Aika, Tricia, and Jillian.
“Tapos (Then) my daughters also have a very special relationship with their dad. In fact, noong nabubuhay pa iyong asawa ko, parang (when my husband was still alive, we’re like) good cop, bad cop kami. Ako iyong (I’m the) bad .”
The Vice President recounted how she allowed her girls to play in the sand and get their hands dirty.
“I’m not that kind of mother. Ako (Me), I just let them be,” Robredo said.
Even when her kids were already in school, she was still cool about their academics and honors. By "cool", it means that she didn’t require them to reach a particular grade or graduate with honors.
READ: Almost 5 years into her term, Robredo savors joy of being a mom than VP
She recalled telling them to comply with school requirements because having an “incomplete grade” is a sign of laziness.
Robredo, however, draws a line where it matters.
“Pero para sa akin halimbawa, nagpa-piano sila, ‘magpa-practice kayo everyday.’ Tapos hindi ako pumapayag na—halimbawa may mga exams, gustong ma-miss iyong swim training, hindi ako pumapayag. So para sa akin, iyong disiplina, iyong disiplina about it, iyong ayaw ko iyong naghahanap ng parang excuse (But for me, for example, if they have piano lessons, ‘you practice every day.’ Then I don’t allow—for example there are exams, they want to miss swim training, I don’t allow that. So, for me, it’s the discipline, the discipline about it, what I don’t like is if they look for an excuse),” she said.
Robredo said she didn’t panic if her daughters got low grades in their academic subjects and that she was more concerned about their grade in conduct.
READ: How is VP Robredo as a mother? Her daughter speaks
“Pero kung bumagsak iyong grade ko sa conduct, parang doon ako magpa-panic. So iyong mga ganoon na pamantayan (But if you fail in your grade in conduct, that’s when I will panic. So that’s the standard),” Robredo said.
Not that she has to worry about her daughters' academics: Aika has a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (just like dad Jesse); Tricia is a doctor who graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health; and Jillian, a math whiz, is taking up a Biomolecular Science degree at the New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, on full scholarship.