Public Service in Pink: Interview with Leni Robredo

Leni Robredo is the 14th Vice President of the Philippines, serving from 2016 to 2022. Prior to her term, she first entered the Philippines’ political scene in 2013, when she was elected Member of the House of Representatives. Soon after her term as Vice President, she set up Angat Pinas, Inc., a non-government organization that now carries the Angat Buhay Program.

You have a background as a human rights attorney. How did this influence your desire to pursue the Vice Presidency and your goals while in office?

A lot [of] what made me [run] for office was not deliberate. I ran three times. The first one was when I ran for a seat in Congress, at the House of Representatives. It was right at the heels after my husband perished in a plane crash. So I was sort of thrust into it, because the party suddenly became headless. The next time I ran was for the vice presidency. It was a nomination from the party. They needed a lady and the first choice decided to run for president, so I was the second one. FOR MORE