Saying that it was “frustrating” to watch the whirlwind of election-related withdrawals and substitutions at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday, Nov. 13, the camp of presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo stressed that this signified the importance of electing the opposition’s candidate to the country’s highest post.
“Kapag pinapanood natin ito medyo nakaka-frustrate ng konti. Para sa akin, paalala rin ito kung bakit si VP Leni lumalaban at bakit nga madaming tao ang sumusuporta at umaasa sa kanyang liderato (When we watch this, it is frustrating. For me, this is also a reminder why VP Leni is fighting and why a lot of people are supporting and hoping for her leadership),” Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said on Sunday, Nov. 14, over dzXL.
This came as events that seem to have been taken out of Television drama series (or “teleserye”) brewed at the Comelec over the weekend. President Duterte accompanied Senator Bong Go in submitting his new Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president while Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, through a representative, submitted her new COC as vice president under Lakas-CMD.
Presidential aspirant and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. soon adopted Duterte-Carpio as his vice president.
But this was shadowed by the President hinting that he might run as Go’s vice president, going against his own daughter who he said he hasn’t talked to in a long time.
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Gutierrez lamented that this is the kind of leadership the country now has amid the pandemic when the economy has not recovered from the deep recession that caused many Filipinos to lose their jobs and many Filipino families reported having experienced involuntary hunger.
“Ang dami nating problema, ang dami natin kailangan asikasuhin...Tapos iyong makikita mo, iyong mga lider mo ito ang inaatupag. Kung anu anong mga drama at sabi nga nyo teleserye, sabi nung iba circus, di ba (We have a lot of problems, we need to fix many things...Then you will see your leaders busy with other things. There’s a lot of drama, some say it’s a teleserye, others say it is a circus, right),” he said.
Only Robredo has a clear plan on how to respond to the issues that the country now faces, her spokesperson stressed.
“Hindi lang plano, nagawa niya na sa kanyang limitadong budget at limitadong mandato sa ilalim ng (It’s not just a plan, she did this with a limited budget and limited mandate under the) Office of the Vice President,” Gutierrez said.
During the pandemic, the OVP provided free dormitories, shuttle services, hot meals, and personal protective equipment (PPE) to the medical frontliners.
She also initiated a series of livelihood programs for those who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Her most popular COVID-19 response programs are the Vaccine Express, Community Learning Hubs, Swab Cab, and Bayanihan E-Konsulta, which she plans to expand if she wins the presidency in 2022.