Into the lion’s den: What happens when Robredo meets Marcos supporters? (Sabong News)

Vice President Leni Robredo took time out from her busy schedule last February to meet with employees of a garments factory, where 80 percent of the employees were supporters of her main rival for the presidency, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Robredo was invited by Leni Robredo Volunteers composed of members from southern Metro Manila and adjoining provinces: Parañaque, Las Piñas, Cavite, and Laguna. The video, which was done in a garments factory in Parañaque, was posted over the weekend on former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s Facebook page. Trillanes is running under the ticket of Robredo and Sen. Francis “Kiko”Pangilinan. Robredo was all game in answering the questions posed by Marcos’ supporters. Asked about her platform for employment, the Vice President shared her “Hanapbuhay Para Sa Lahat” program, highlighting the need to attract investors by ensuring good governance that is free from corruption and deemed trustworthy by the business sector. “Magkakaroon ng maraming trabaho kung ‘yung mga negosyante, may tiwala sa gobyerno. Kasi kung ang negosyante, may tiwala sa gobyerno, mag-iinvest sila sa atin (There will be a lot of jobs if the entrepreneurs trust the government. Because if the entrepreneurs trust the government, they will invest in us),” she said. She also told them about her pandemic-era initiative sikap.ph, wherein they partnered with companies that offered more than 29,000 jobs for Filipinos who lost their livelihoods because of the pandemic. READ: Robredo lamented that only 16,000 qualified for the jobs because of the lack of skills and proper training, which is why she has included training programs in her jobs platform. “So dapat ‘yung gobyerno, ang program niya, ‘yung skills na kailangan, dapat may programa siya na kung ano ‘yung kailangan ng trabaho, ‘yung tao natre-train siya sa skills na ‘yun para, para makakapasok siya (The government should have a program where the skills needed, it should have a program that’s what’s needed in the job, it will train skills for that to qualify),” she said. “Kasi, paminsan ang dami namang trabahong available, dahil wala tayong skills, dun tayo sa mga trabaho na mababa ‘yung sahod. Dahil ‘yun ‘yung skills na available sa ‘tin (Because, sometimes there are a lot of jobs available, but we have no skills, we go to jobs with lower salaries. Because those are the skills available to us),” the Vice President added. Asked about what she can do to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, the lone female presidential candidate shared her work as a volunteer lawyer. She enumerated three things that should happen to “clean the institution”: non-political appointments of government officials, transparency in government records, and an empowered electorate like her Robredo People’s Council. Her people’s council is reflective of the work of her husband, former Interior secretary Jesse Robredo, in Naga City when he was mayor there for almost 20 years. “Na ‘yung mekanismo na kahit hindi ka bahagi ng pamahalaan, merong mekanismo para nakakapag-participate ka. Hindi ka naman kapitan, hindi ka naman mayor, pero interesado ka sa programa ng pamahalaan, dapat meron kang boses (The mechanism is you are a part of government, there’s a mechanism for you to participate. You are not a barangay captain, you are not the mayor, but you are interested in the programs of the government, you should have a voice),” she said. Even if the country is drowning in debt, Robredo explained why she wanted to run as president and help. Her years working with communities—fisherfolk, farmers, and ordinary workers—opened her eyes to the harsh realities of what happens when politicians don’t fulfill their promises. “Sa trabaho ko, ang kasalamuha ko talaga ‘yung mga magsasaka, mangingisda, mga, mga manggagawa. Ang paniniwala ko, ‘pag sila ‘yung unang inasikaso, iiba ‘yung takbo natin (In my work, I spend time with farmers, fishermen, workers. My belief is that if you take care of them, we will change),” she said. With less than a week to Election Day, pre-election presidential preference surveys aren’t favorable to Robredo but her on-the-ground support has been swelling, with international media and political observers commenting on the volunteerism that fueled the Vice President’s bid for Malacañang.