Presidential aspirant Leni Robredo has been receiving plethora of criticisms, false news, and propagandas against her, amidst her campaign for the upcoming elections.

Since VP Leni has announced in October her campaign for presidency this year, my social media news feed and timeline have been flooded with pink, and hashtags in the likes of #LetLeniLead #LeniAngatSaLahat, and #LabanLeni. Which reflects that I am surrounded by folks who know and value the truth.

From the time when Leni Robredo was elected as the Vice President (even before she got elected), she and her office have been exhibiting outstanding performance as they comply with the responsibility of serving the country and its countrymen.

In 2021, the office of Vice President Leni Robredo received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA), for the third consecutive year.

Robredo has received prevalent praise and recognitions for spearheading a quick, effective, and inclusive COVID-19 response programs despite her office’s small budget.

Another remarkable achievement of Leni Robredo so far is her “Angat Buhay” project, launched in 2016.  The program aims to bring together the public and the private sectors, including organizations and individuals to address the needs of families in the farthest and the poorest communities in the country.

As of December 2021, Angat Buhay has partnered with 372 organizations, mobilizing a total of P520 million worth of resources, for 321,001 families and 305,223 individuals in 223 communities nationwide.

What are the ‘concrete plans’ of Leni Robredo if elected as President?

On COVID-19

The presidential aspirant committed to be “on top of everything” in the government’s COVID-19 response, saying micromanagement is needed in a crisis like the pandemic when people’s lives are at stake.

“Ang sisiguraduhin ko lang I will be on top of everything. ‘Pag sinabi kong on top of everything, yung day to day na COVID response, ako yung mismo yung tututok,” Robredo said.

Robredo said she will ensure that all government agencies and local government units work “harmoniously.”

“Sisiguraduhin ko na all the agencies, all the local government units are working harmoniously kasi yun yung tingin kong naging kakulangan ngayon, lahat naman may ginagawa pero kulang ng konduktor,” she said.

“Kaya ang desisyon ng isang opisina, iba yung ginagawa nung iba. Parang sobrang mixed yung messaging. Sobrang mixed yung, nakita natin na magsasabi ng ganitong desisyon, the following day babawiin. E yun yung nakakadagdag sa pagka, yung anxiety ng tao,” she added.

On Mining and Environment

VP Leni will revoke the executive order on mining. She explained how important it is to "empower those who will be affected [by mining]"

"Many laws need to be passed, like the Land Use Bill. This will declare which are the no-mining zones," Robredo said.

The Vice President also explained that the locality should be the first to benefit from mining, "especially the indigenous people -- not the businessmen or foreigners. The locals can safeguard many things like environment," said the VP.

She also noted that she will rationalize offices to make sure accountability, and "that the voices of stakeholders and environmental advocates will be heard."

On Poverty, Joblessness and Hunger

Robredo said that the government has to invest for local industries (blue, green, and gold industries), and how important it is to help the micro-entrepreneurs.

"We know that a large percentage of our businesses are small and they're the ones that generate a lot of jobs for us. So my proposal is we should, No. 1, give a conditional stimulus grant for small businesses on the condition na huwag sila magtanggal ng empleyado."

She also explained that the small businesses has to have access to capital, "even low-interest loans for businesses that can pay back loans."

Also, she said they need access to the market.

"For example, our farmers need the government to buy their products because the government needs food to give to the people. Aside from ayuda, which is short-term, we need unemployment insurance for those who lose jobs not through any fault of theirs. At least they have a safety net. What’s long-term is you give them a chance to work."

On Overseas Filipino Workers / Migrants

Leni noted that it is important “to fix our economy” to help the OFWs and so that they don’t have to leave their families. “For example, there are OFWs who’ve retired abroad who want to retire here but they can’t leave the country they’re working in because of healthcare, because we can’t offer to them what those countries offer.”

She also said that the government has to offer better jobs when the OFWs go back in the country.

“For example, many of us are seafarers. We have so many seafarers but only a small percentage of them are official. When you look at the salaries of the official versus the unofficial, ang layo. But the government has the capacity to provide programs for those whose ambition is to be a seafarer abroad.” VP Leni said.

On Drugs

Leni explained the importance of assigning a “Dangerous Drug Board” as the Interagency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), "because it’s policymaking. If the chairman was DDB, there is a greater chance of a whole-of-government approach."

She also shared that she got an opportunity to be ICAD for 18 days. During her time as the co-chair, she assessed what needs to be changed with the anti-drug program, “we put out a comprehensive assessment on what was wrong and what we felt needed to be done.”

On National Debt

Robredo sees the increase of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fix the government, and regain the trust of the people in government, as a solution to national debt.

“I’ll make sure that the money we loaned went to the things that they were supposed to, and that the return to us is a thousand-fold, because if we loan and the return is not that big, why did we even loan? It’s not bad to loan if you really need it and the returns are greater than what we borrowed. But loaning is bad if it goes to corruption.” Robredo explained.

“If we look at the debt to GDP ratio, we started pre-pandemic at 44%. That meant we still had elbow room to loan. So, because we needed a lot of money during the pandemic, it was okay to loan, but now if we look at the debt-to-GDP ratio, it’s at 60% already —wala na tayong elbow room.” She added.

On Corruption

Leni will make sure to “legislate the mechanisms that prevent corruption.” She explained that the mechanisms she mentioned is by making sure that all government procurement processes are transparent.

“I filed a full-disclosure bill even without need of requests from the people. Everything the government spends, every contract, should be available to the public. Twenty percent of the budget should go to debt management.” Robredo explained.

On the West Philippine Sea

VP Leni said she will leverage the arbitral court decision; nurture relationship with China through mutual respect, and it’s important the both countries have to adhere to international laws.

“We have an arbitral ruling that favors us. The ruling says that the West Philippine Sea is ours and because it’s ours, we're going to fight for it. All our efforts should be focused on what will meet the best interests of the Filipino and the country; it’s not only sovereignty but also the livelihood of our fishermen.” Leni explained.

Basically, these mentioned concrete plans of Leni Robredo is feasible and beneficial to our country. And if you don't want to better the Philippines, then don't vote for her.

Reference: The 2022 Presidential One-On-One Interviews with Boy Abunda