Vice President Leni Robredo. FILE PHOTO
Vice President Leni Robredo fired back at her critics on Wednesday for insinuating that she was out to usurp the role of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), saying the fight to rid the country of massive poverty was not a competition.
鈥淭he OVP believes that ending poverty should not be seen as a competition, but a collaboration by all capable parties,鈥� read a statement issued by Robredo鈥檚 spokesperson Georgina Hernandez.
鈥淣obody has the monopoly of good intentions, the desire
to serve the public, and models of how to address poverty,鈥�
Robredo said.
Hernandez, in an apparent reference to the NAPC, said the goal of antipoverty advocates should not be the 鈥済lorification of any individual or group, but the empowerment of the Filipino family.鈥�
Though Robredo refrained from mentioning anyone specifically, her statement came after Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao accused her of 鈥渦surping the mandate鈥� of the NAPC, which is chaired by former Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, also of the Makabayan bloc.
The leftist Makabayan bloc is allied with the Duterte administration, while Robredo won the vice presidency on the ticket of Liberal Party candidate, Mar Roxas.
On Tuesday, Casilao said Robredo was 鈥減laying good girl鈥� to foreign agencies and big businesses. He also accused her of undermining Duterte鈥檚 push for an independent foreign policy when she defended the country鈥檚 relationship with international donors.
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听Afraid to starve
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This came after the NAPC鈥檚 social media accounts posted messages that insulted Robredo and her supporter, actress Agot Isidro, who had grabbed
headlines for a post criticizing Mr. Duterte and calling him a 鈥減sychopath.鈥�
The NAPC post, since deleted,听 said the two women were 鈥渂oth afraid to starve.鈥�
But Hernandez said it was always Robredo鈥檚 dream 鈥渢o have a Philippines that is free from poverty.鈥�
鈥淭his has been her advocacy long before she became a politician, a dream that was shaped by her years as a community organizer, NGO worker, and lawyer for poor Filipinos,鈥� she said.
Hernandez said 鈥淎ngat Buhay,鈥� a comprehensive antipoverty initiative of the Office of the Vice President, was but one of the many effective solutions Robredo hoped to use 鈥渢o build our nation.鈥�
She said that politics should take a backseat in the fight against poverty, which Robredo had recently described as a 鈥渓arger war鈥� than the government鈥檚 antidrug war.