As we choose our next leaders, it is a must for us to choose those who have come not to be served but to serve.
I see this in the person of Leni Robredo, whose life and leadership style are anchored on Jesus’ mission. “The message for all of us is clear: Each one of us is called to turn our gaze to the last, the least, and the lost,” she said in her speech during the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.
Her advocacy is clearly manifested in the many programs of the Office of the Vice President, particularly Angat Buhay, the flagship anti-poverty program of the OVP which brings together the private and public sectors to address the needs of families and communities in the farthest and poorest areas of the country. The program covers food security and nutrition, housing and resettlement, public education, rural development, universal health care, and women empowerment.
Robredo is the antithesis of many politicians. She lives a simple life and, unlike them, is not corrupt. While taking care of her family and working, she pursued law and then worked at the Public Attorney’s Office and for non-government organizations. She is a true servant leader who has been hands-on and has taken risks, sharing responsibility and authority and continuously building and strengthening communities down to the grassroots level.
ROSAURO ANGELO J. RODRIGUEZ
rodriguez.roel@gmail.com