Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said violence is not the way for a country to achieve the result it wants and that the most effective way to do this is to address the root of the problem.
Robredo said this in response to the question of fellow presidential candidate former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales during the Usapang Halalan forum of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) aired Friday evening March 25.
For the first segment of the forum, Gonzales asked his fellow candidates their opinion on the use of violence to change society. Robredo said she firmly believes that violence is never the answer but identifying the cause.
"Hindi ako naniniwala na dahas yung paraan para makamtan natin yung mga ends na gusto nating makamtan (I don't believe that violence is the way for us to reach the ends that we want)," she said.
"Kung idadaan natin ito sa violence na hindi naman natin napuntirya yung pinaka-buod, hindi matatanggal yung problema (If we will resort to violence without targeting the root, we cannot remove the problem)," she added.
The Vice President, in particular, cited combating insurgency wherein she said it could be resolved by addressing its root.
"Ang paniniwala ko yung pagbibigay ng solusyon ay hindi nadadaan sa militaristic ways lamang pero yung pag-converge ng lahat ng social services para matugunan yung problema (I believe this can not only be resolved through militaristic ways but also the convergence of social services to address the problem)," Robredo said.
"Dapat pinapakinggan at hinaharap kung ano yung pinanggagalingan para yun yung magbibigay ng lasting solution (We should listen to them and face its roots in order for us to give a lasting solution)," she added.