Robredo explains why she is angry at Marcos

If Vice President Leni Robredo is angry at former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and apprehensive of his family’s possible return to power, it’s because of the way the Marcoses looted the country’s coffers during the Martial Law years.

The son of the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos grew up during the Martial Law years and even held government positions during its heyday.

“Sa akin, tingin ko hindi dapat tayo nagagalit sa tao eh. Ang dapat nagagalit tayo sa ginagawa (For me, we shouldn’t be angry at the person. We should be angry at what they’re doing),” Robredo said during a virtual meeting with Kasambahay for Leni on Tuesday, Oct. 26.

As the executor of his father’s will, Bongbong Marcos was instrumental in blocking cases that would force his family to open their accounts. He has denied payments to victims of Martial Law.

He continuously denies that his family stole from the country, but official records say the Marcoses looted more than $10 billion, Robredo said.

The Vice President said the public should be angry not only with Marcos, but with other public officials who stray from their obligations.

“Kami kasing mga public officials meron kaming obligasyon. Ang obligasyon namin maging malinis ang aming panunungkulan, na kapag hindi namin iyon nagawa dapat ang tao magalit sa ginagawa namin (As public officials, we have an obligation. Our obligation is to be true to our responsibilities and that if we cannot do that, the people should get angry),” she added.

Her apprehensions against the Marcoses stem from what they did when they were still in power.

Court documents, Robredo cited, have already proven that.

The lady official lamented, however, the proliferation of fake news on social media that twist the truth about what happened during the Martial Law years.

Both Robredo and Bongbong Marcos are seeking the country’s highest post in next year’s polls after they slugged it out for the vice presidency in 2016.

Robredo won by a slim margin of 263,473 votes against Marcos in the vice presidential race.

During the recount of the votes, she gained more than 15,000 additional votes in the three pilot provinces of Negros Oriental, Iloilo, and Camarines Sur.

In February this year, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the electoral protest filed by the former senator for not meeting the terms of the protest, which is to prove that fraud happened in these pilot provinces.

Meanwhile, a group of Robredo’s supporters allegedly called for a boycott of business establishments supporting the candidacy of Marcos Jr. in Iloilo City. On Wednesday, Oct. 27, during a media briefing in Bicol, the Vice President discouraged the move since it would not promote unity among Filipinos.