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Robredo: 2022 polls should not be a factor in COVID-19 response; says it's 'disservice to Filipinos'
Robredo: 2022 polls should not be a factor in COVID-19 response; says it's 'disservice to Filipinos'
Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said government leaders should not think about the next elections while serving the people in this time of pandemic because such a mindset will be a “disservice” to them.
“Para lugi ang taumbayan kung nakaupo ka pa nga, tapos ang iniisip mo susunod na eleksyon. Lahat ng desisyon mo affected (People will be at the losing end if you think of the next elections. All of your decisions are going to be affected),” she said.
Robredo said her possible presidential bid in 2022 was never in her mind as her office responds to the coronavirus crisis in the country.
Robredo, the leader of the opposition, said her work will suffer if she will start thinking about the next elections.
“Tapos na iyong opisina namin kapag inisip ko iyong 2022 (It would be the end of our office if I would think of 2022),” she said over local radio station DYHP RMN Cebu.
“Hindi ko na magagampanan iyong trabaho ko kasi isiipin ko na lang saan ako makakuha ng maraming boto (I can no longer fulfill my duties because I will only think of where I can get a lot of votes),” she added.
The vice president was responding to megastar Sharon Cuneta’s remark that she should run in the 2022 presidential election and succeed President Duterte.
Robredo has been rumored to be the opposition's bet in 2022 in a possible face-off with Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
She entered politics and won a seat in Congress in 2013, a year after her husband former Interior secretary Jesse Robredo died in a plane crash.
“Ang record ko sa pulitika wala akong pinlano (my record in politics is that I didn’t plan at all),” she said.
The vice president said the COVID-19 pandemic is a time to be united and set aside politics.
“Sana kung mayroong hindi pagkakaintindihan in the past, i-set aside muna iyun para magtulong-tulong muna tayong lahat. All hands on deck dapat sa panahong ito (I hope if there is a misunderstanding in the past, it must be set aside for everyone to help each other. It should be all hands on deck during this time),” she said.
“Mahahalata mo sa lugar na matindi ’yung pulitika, hindi maganda ang response sa pandemic (You will notice that in the areas where politics is intense, the response to the pandemic is not good),” she added.