Vice President Leni Robredo said the government system should force public officials to be good at the second round of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-organized presidential debate on Sunday, April 3.

Robredo, the lone female presidential candidate in this year’s elections, was asked on who is to blame for corruption, the weakness of the government or the people.

This question was raised in reference to the P700-billion public funds lost every year to corruption, an amount enough to build P1.4 million homes for Filipinos.

While agreeing both the people and the system are to blame, Robredo cited three ways to stamp out corruption, among which are accountability, transparency, and people empowerment.

On accountability, the aspiring president said punishment must be meted out to those public officials found guilty of corruption.

“Equally important and even more important 'yung (is) transparency saka (and) people empowerment kasi ito 'yung magpre-prevent for public officials na gumawa ng mali (because these will prevent public officials from committing wrongdoings),” she said.

In ensuring transparency, the Vice President highlighted the importance of creating the Citizen’s Charter and digitizing government processes to minimize human contact.

“Another instrument for transparency 'yung paggagawa ng (is the creation of) Citizen's Charter, na sinasabi natin alam ng tao kung anong aasahan niya sa pamahalaan pagdating sa mga proseso (which we are saying that the people will know on what to expect from the government when it comes to its processes),” she said.

The debate, which lasted for more than two hours at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, was attended by nine presidential candidates, except for survey frontrunner former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos Jr. was a no-show again as he and running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte rejected the idea of joining debates.

Robredo reiterated she would issue an Executive Order requiring government offices to be transparent in their transactions or the Full Disclosure Policy should she win the presidency.

“Meaning to say, ire-require ko 'yung lahat na (I will require all) government offices and instrumentalities to make public all their transactions, all the contracts, all the procurement, even without need of request from anyone,” she said.

At the same time, Robredo also vowed to push for People's Councils so Filipinos are part of policy-making and it will also pave the way for the return of bottom-up budgeting.

“Yung pangatlo (The third), empowerment. Kailangan alam ng tao at kabahagi siya ng proseso para nababantayan niya 'yung paglagay ng mga People's Councils, pagbalik ng BUB (The people need to know and they should be part of the process so they can guard the putting up of People’s Councils, return of BUB),” she said.