A salute to the vice president

Vice President Leni Robredo’s term will end tomorrow. Philippine history will remember her as a resilient woman who successfully carried out her mandate, as well as other functions, even as she faced a lot of obstacles against her, usually from the same administration she was supposed to be part of.

For the past six years she has been treated like she was not part of the government.

She was always sidelined, and not given the security detail due to vice presidents. She was given a portfolio as Housing secretary, but she later had to resign after it became evident the administration did not want her to succeed in that role.

At one point a sycophant in the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission even suggested to the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate Robredo for “competing” with the national government's efforts against COVID-19, in particular her free shuttle and dorm program for health workers.

Despite all this, her office --with a budget a pittance compared to some redundant offices or agencies-- still managed to carry out its mandate. And she leaves it with the highest ratings from the Commission on Audit for three straight years, unlike some redundant offices or agencies that still have a lot to account for.

Or course, she is not without her faults. It is was true that she often spoke out against the policies of the Duterte administration, but these were usually to call attention to its faults. She was only voicing out what many were thinking but were afraid to say.

Then, there was her seeming indecision with her running for president. Some political observers say that in the end it was her delay in coming up with a final decision that sealed her overwhelming defeat in the recent polls.

Of course, those won’t define how she ran her office. If anything, people will remember how she was able to maintain the dignity of her position, unlike another top official who never let go of his obscene speech and gestures. People will also remember how she was able to carry out different programs that mattered and how she was able to inspire women to aspire for more.

But most of all, she will be remembered for how she was able to “build bricks without straw”, another way of saying still managing despite being thrown obstacles and being deprived of resources along the way.

Here’s a salute to the vice president. Let’s hope we have not seen the last of her. Of the last of the likes of her.