Makahulugan ang naging pahayag ni Vice Pres. Leni Robredo kaugnay ng kanyang posisyon bilang drug czar sa pagdalo sa isang programa sa lungsod ng Maynila.
Ayon kay VP Leni, tapang at determinasyon ang kanyang sandata ngayon para patuloy na magtrabaho kontra iligal na droga sa kabila ng mga natatanggap na kritisismo.
“These past two weeks, since I accepted the President’s challenge to lead the government’s efforts against illegal drugs, it has been this strength and determination that I learned as a woman that has allowed me to persevere, in the face of innumerable obstacles and difficulties, to say the least.”
“While a lot of people were surprised that I accepted the post, I never—even for a moment—thought of turning my back on the opportunity to serve our country. After all, we women are truly made of sterner stuff than most people think. Don’t you think so?,” ani Robredo.
Nitong umaga nang magsalita si Robredo sa kauna-unahang International Conference on Gender and Adult Literacy and Active Citizenship for Social Transformation.
“The Philippines is one of the top 10 countries in the world where it is great to be a woman, but even here, there is more space to improve gender equality.”
Isa itong insiyatibo sa ilalim ng UNESCO Chair Programme in Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation at partnership ng University of Sto. Tomas at University of East Anglia sa United Kingdom.
Layunin ng tatlong araw na conference na maabot ang Sustainable Development Goals sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalitan ng mga pag-aaral at impormasyon na may kinalaman sa gender equality, literacy at global citizenship.
“It is clear where all of these lead. Any nation with empowered women experience more spending on education, health, and nutrition. Societies that see an improvement in gender equality grow faster and are more inclusive. We see lower poverty, higher environmental maturity, and more inclusive international value chains. We cannot argue with the numbers: empowering women’s participation in the growth of the economy could add $28 trillion in global gross domestic product growth by 2025.”
Una ng sinabi ng tagapagsalita ni Robredo na si Atty. Barry Gutierrez na hindi magbibitiw ang bise presidente sa ICAD post nito kahit pa pahirapan siya ng administrasyon o subukang pigilan sa mga nais nitong gawin bilang drug czar.
“The Vice President will stay so long as she still has a job to do. Sinabi naman niya kahapon eh: “Kung gusto nila akong tanggalin, eh ‘di diretsuhin na nila, ‘di ba?” But she will not resign kung ang gagawin lang ay papahirapan siya o haharangan siya,” ani Gutierrez.
