Yearender: OVP focuses on anti-poverty

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo’s strong partnership with the private sector helped her pursue her anti-poverty programs last year even as she continued to face challenges in the political front, including a lingering electoral protest and lack of affection from the Duterte administration.?

Robredo continued to receive majority approval ratings this year despite not having a Cabinet portfolio, but many criticize her for not taking a strong stance on many issues hounding the administration.

Her Angat Buhay program – an initiative she launched in partnership with various private organizations in 2016 – brought her to more people in the “laylayan ng lipunan” (fringes of society) this year.  

“VP Leni received the support she needed from various sectors to expand her flagship anti-poverty program Angat Buhay,” Robredo’s spokesperson Georgina Hernandez said.

“It has been a year full of hope for VP Leni and the Office of the Vice President,” she said, noting the stories they encountered as they implemented the program.

Hernandez, who also heads the advocacy and anti-poverty programs of the OVP, said Angat Buhay has so far assisted 83,000 families in 176 local government units since it was launched in October 2016.

“The bayanihan spirit behind Angat Buhay has given VP Leni the inspiration and capacity to continue serving Filipino families, especially those at the fringes of society,” she said.

Last October, the OVP launched the Angat Kabuhayan – a joint venture with private firms that seeks to increase job opportunities in the areas of agribusiness, construction, information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO), manufacturing, services and tourism.

The OVP initially targeted 70,000 jobs, mostly in the IT-BPO sector.

Pretty impressive

With her victory in the 2016 elections still in question and lack of a Cabinet position, political analyst Richard Heydarian said Robredo’s high approval ratings remain “pretty impressive.” 

Robredo is facing an electoral protest from former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before the Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2016 vice presidential race.

The Vice President, though, remains confident she will triumph in the end.

“If you look at her approval ratings she’s doing quite well. She has closed the gap between her and President Duterte in terms of net approval rating, compared from a year ago where her ratings were significantly lower than Duterte’s,” he said. 

Robredo’s net satisfaction rating in the Social Weather Stations (SWS) third quarter poll went up five points to +41 (62 percent satisfied, 21 percent dissatisfied) from June’s +36.

“For almost a year she has not occupied any significant office and for her to have that kind of approval rating I think is pretty impressive,” Heydarian told The STAR.

Robredo quit her post as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council in December 2016 after she was barred from attending Cabinet meetings.

She was also sidelined during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit hosted by the Philippines in November.

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now Pampanga representative, was instead given a major role in welcoming leaders of ASEAN and dialogue partners, a role traditionally given to the vice president.

Heydarian said Robredo – de facto leader of the opposition – has to show more feistiness in taking a stance on issues hounding the Duterte administration even though she has criticized several policies and decisions of the President, including his bloody drug war and the hero’s burial for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“For me it’s important on the personal level that she also displays feistiness and decisiveness. The reality is people are no longer looking for, I think in the Philippines today, we’re not looking for the passive kind, behind the scene leader, people want decisive people,” he said.

“Because we live in an era where people look for a decisive leader,” he said.

“Yes, her numbers are closing in on President Duterte’s but (that’s) because the President’s numbers are going down in the surveys, not because they see her as more competent,” he added.

Heydarian said Robredo has to work harder to show the people that despite the limitation of her mandate she still tries to help the country and prove that she is a “steady” alternative to Duterte.

“When you have Duterte who always talks about resignation, talks about revolutionary government and talks about the possibility that he will not finish his term, it’s important that in the eyes of the people Leni Robredo is seen as a steady alternative,” he said.