More than 200 Filipino retirees from the United Nations (UN) system endorsed the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo, saying she will lead Filipinos to the "right path of transformative change."
The group of 207 members, who were part of more than 30 different agencies and entities of the UN, signed and released their declaration of support for Robredo.
They are former officers, staff, and technical advisers worked in UN agencies such as UNICEF, World Bank, the International Labor Office (ILO), UNFPA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
The UN retirees believe that Robredo's courage to stand up for the truth, unblemished record of accountability, humility, and genuine concern for people’s well-being and empowerment will be the beacon for her governance as President.
“We believe in her Program of Government that will take us Filipinos to the right path of transformative change,” they said in the statement released on Thursday, Feb. 17.
They said that Robredo’s program encompasses priority issues and concerns such as health care, food security, education, among other matters.
The former UN staffers also agreed with Robredo’s stance on the West Philippine Sea, her judicious use of the limited budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to assist fellow Filipinos, and the response of her office to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The signatories also cited the Vice President’s values as another reason for their support.
“Her courage to stand up for the truth, for what is right for the country and our people inspires all of us. Her unblemished record of accountability and simple lifestyle speaks of her trustworthiness and humility. Her genuine concern for people’s well-being and empowerment will be the beacon for her governance as President," they said.
Robredo's camp, on the other hand, welcomed the declaration of support, saying "it's a huge thing."
"It tells the vast majority of our people that competent people, people with experience, think that the VP is competent and that she has what it takes to be president and that’s no small thing," Robredo's Spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said in an ANC interview Friday, Feb. 18.
"And that supports the message that we have been sending out since the start: that her track record, that her approach to governance, that her completely clean record, are all things that should be very heavily considered in supporting her and choosing her as our next president," Gutierrez added.
Last week, more than 130 Filipino economists also released a statement expressing full support for Robredo’s presidential bid.
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