EDITORIAL - No spare tire

As the official results showed her winning the vice presidential race, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo promised to give her “100 percent” support to incoming president Rodrigo Duterte, noting that he had received a clear, overwhelming mandate from the people. Duterte’s success, Robredo said, is the nation’s success.

Robredo, the second woman to become vice president after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, also said the nation needed rebuilding after a divisive campaign. That should sit well with Duterte, who is also moving to make good on his campaign promise to work for national unity.

Duterte has expressed readiness to work with a vice president from another party, promising that the nation’s second highest official would not be a spare tire in his administration. Robredo is expected to get a position in the Duterte Cabinet.

The conciliatory statements should bode well for a healthy relationship between the incoming president and the official who automatically succeeds in case the chief executive is unable to perform his duties. Both appeal to the masses and eschew the trappings of political power.

It helps that there is no known personal bad blood between Duterte and Robredo even after a bruising, deeply divisive campaign. This will allow the incoming president to maximize the utilization of the capabilities of the nation’s second highest official to serve the public.

Taxpayers spend substantial amounts to maintain the Office of the Vice President, and it’s a waste to relegate its occupant to the role of presidential spare tire. It’s more productive to have the two highest officials working in partnership to serve the nation.