GMA, Erap attend reunion of VPs

MANILA, Philippines — Former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Estrada reunited during the 90th anniversary of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) as Vice President Sara Duterte invited all her predecessors to the event in Makati City.

Former vice president and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo failed to attend the reunion of the vice presidents.

Estrada was accompanied by his sons Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Jude Estrada.

Former vice president Jejomar Binay was represented by his daughter, Makati Mayor Nancy Binay.

Another former vice president, broadcaster Noli de Castro, also sent his representatives, who received a copy of the book, “First In Line, The Vice Presidents of the Philippines.”

In her speech, Duterte offered prayers for the victims of the recent calamities.

“My heart and my prayers go out to all our countrymen recently affected by the spate of natural calamities that have swept our nation – the devastation caused by the earthquake, the strong winds and flooding from the successive typhoons and the continuous threat posed by volcanic activity. We mourn with those who have lost loved ones and pray for strength and recovery for all those whose homes and livelihoods were affected,” Duterte said.

Duterte added that “it is in these moments of profound crisis that the government must be the strongest.”

In her speech, Arroyo compared the vice presidents in the Philippines and in the United States, saying Philippine vice presidents are more powerful “because the vice president in the Philippines is elected separately from the president, therefore, has a direct mandate from the people.”

“The vice president is important because she or he provides for a smooth succession of power, which is a mandate of democracy” which, she added, is accepted by the Filipinos and recognized even by the international community because it is provided for in the Constitution.

“This makes our vice president powerful and unique,” Arroyo added. — Evelyn Macairan