Vice President Leni Robredo does not think that her gender is a sign of weakness, especially when considering that her rivals in the May 2022 presidential race are all male.

Robredo stressed that she has shown courage and strength in many stages of her life, including the times when she would "face off" against President Duterte himself.

The lady official had this to say as veteran journalist Jessica Soho in her presidential interviews special asked her Saturday, Jan. 22 about ruling the country with an “iron fist,” a term linked to the tough-talking Duterte.

“Kung katapangan lang naman, hindi ito nakikita sa (If it’s about courage, this cannot be seen in) gender. Nakikita ito kung papaano ka nagdedesisyon sa maraming aspeto ng iyong buhay (This can be seen in how you decide in many aspects of your life),” she added.

Robredo believes that she has shown courage “in many stages in my being vice president".

Despite being asked to resign as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) in the early months of the Duterte presidency in 2016, she cited housing as one of her advocacies and even accepted the Chief Executive’s subsequent dare to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

The Vice President said she opted to stand her ground despite knowing that many people in the administration would be angry at her.

“Kung katapangan lang naman iyong pag-uusapan (If we are to talk about courage), in many stages of my life, pinakita ko ito (I've shown this. I lost my husband, I fought),” she added.

Robredo recalled that when she first entered politics and ran as congresswoman in 2013, she had to face one of the biggest political dynasties in her home province of Camarines Sur.

Robredo, then a development worker, won against the matriarch of the influential Villafuerte clan.

Robredo is also confident that her experience in development work will show that she is fit to become the next president.

“Long before I became a politician, I was already a public servant,” she said when her supposed inexperience in public office was brought up.

Robredo has only nine years of experience in public office, but she has been exposed to it prior to 2013 because of her late husband Jesse Robredo's two decades of service as Naga City mayor.

According to her, she used her experiences in helping the poor to her work as a congresswoman and eventually as vice president.

“Mahalaga na iyong nakaupo ‘yung puso niya nasa pagsilbi sa pinakamahihirap (It is important for everyone in public office to have the heart to serve the poorest),” she added.