In defense of the Vice President

By Joshua Corcuera

 

First and foremost, I am not a big fan of Vice President (VP) Leni Robredo. After all, we must not idolize politicians because they are meant to serve us in the first place. As someone who tends to be progressive, I usually appreciate public servants who are young and off to a fresh start such as Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto. But there are also reasons why Robredo deserves to be appreciated, for progressives and liberals at least, and it is not only due to her opposition to the Duterte regime.

Here in the Philippines, the office of the VP is widely perceived to be a spare tire because the only job of the VP is to succeed the president when the latter is removed from office. This is contrary to the United States where the VP is also the Senate President and a statutory member of the National Security Council and, thus, holds an important role in governance. The same would only happen in the Philippines when the VP is given a specific function by the president.

Robredo does not currently hold a specific function in government. Technically speaking, her only job is to wait for the president to be removed from power. Despite this and the little budget allocated to her office, she managed to initiate programs — like Angat Buhay — which aim to help the marginalized or what they call as nasa laylayan. During the pandemic, her office also helped frontliners by giving them personal protective equipment, free bus rides and shuttle services as well as temporary shelters. And now, in the aftermath of powerful storms, the office of the VP provided relief efforts to those severely affected by flooding — from Cagayan to Catanduanes.

Other members of the government also deserve appreciation such as the Philippine Coast Guard, the police, the military, the public works department, the social welfare department, and local government units who helped during the crisis. Even though I have disagreements with some of these institutions because of their controversies — from alleged corruption to abuse of authority — we have to credit their role in the onslaught of recent storms.

Now, some would argue that Robredo is doing such actions because the 2022 elections are approaching, others say she is helping others for political purposes, or in Filipino, namumulitika. I beg to disagree because helping others, in times of crisis, does not seem to be a political act. And if Robredo is namumulitika in the first place, why would she bother helping people in Cagayan and Isabela? Take note that these northern provinces are the bailiwicks of her rival, Bongbong Marcos, who overwhelmingly won in such provinces last 2016.

There are also people saying that it is best if a person helps even when no one is watching. This is true because if we truly want to help, we must do so even when there are no cameras around. But you cannot easily tell that to government officials — especially national leaders like the president, the VP, and senators — because the media normally reports their action, and inaction, in times of crisis so that the people can see where their leaders are and where their taxes go. If you despise the VP for being covered by the press in helping others, you must also do the same to administration officials because they are also equally covered by journalists. Otherwise, you would be a mere hypocrite. In my opinion, though, there is nothing wrong when government officials — either administration or opposition — are covered in times of crisis. This coverage would help us know where our leaders are when people are suffering and help us decide their destiny in the next election.

The VP may have only one job — to succeed the president in case of the latter’s death, resignation, permanent disability, or removal from office. But there is nothing wrong if the VP of the land exceeds her job description. As a matter of fact, someone who exceeded what she must do deserves appreciation and credit.