Robredo urges gov’t to be fair as thousands will lose jobs over Boracay shutdown

Amid the impending closure of Boracay, Vice President Leni Robredo urged the government to “be fair” and consider the lives of thousands of people who are about to lose their livelihood once the island has been shut down.

“I hope it is not a kneejerk [reaction],” Robredo said when asked about the upcoming closure of Boracay. “I hope there will be no parties favored and everyone will be treated fairly,” she added.

Robredo also expressed concern on allegations that not all establishments will be affected saying, “if that is the case, if it’s true that there are bigger establishments that will not be affected, this is unfair.”

However, the Vice President expressed support to the rehabilitation of Boracay.

“We believe that Boracay has been neglected and we believe that it has to be fixed,” she said. “If closure is the only solution, we will agree to that but we also have to consider that there are 36,000 jobs there, meaning 36,000 people will lose their jobs,” she added.

Meanwhile, Robredo acknowledged the need to work together – echoing the earlier message of President Rodrigo Duterte for them “to forget about politics” and "just work together."

“It’s a good message and I think it is applicable to all people in government,” Robredo said.

However, she noted that this might be easier said than done. “We see it now, there are many national government officials who are campaigning this early… there are also decisions wherein politics is used as a basis rather than principle,” she added.

Robredo hoped that all government employees – from the President to the lowest ranking local government official – would take it to their hearts the true meaning of “work before politics.”