Title translation: Nothing wasted
On my 59th birthday, our beloved former Vice President Leni Gerona Robredo (sorry still have to get use to calling her Atty. Leni) relaunched Angat Buhay under a newly formed and registered NGO, Angat Pinas, Inc.
From Rapa Lopa’s FB at launch of Angat Buhay last July 1: ‘My batchmates from The Company Moy Ortiz and Annie Quintos with their younger performers Sweet Plantado and OJ Mariano’
Originally her flagship anti-poverty program in the Office of the Vice President, Angat Buhay continues today because many people all over the country have chosen to work together towards our shared dreams and aspirations for a better life for many Filipinos who remain poor and marginalized. VP Leni herself always underscores that without the cooperation of the private sector and ordinary citizens from various professions, her initiatives in the OVP would not have reached and assisted as many of our fellow countrymen and women.
The photo above ran in Inquirer online news at the beginning of her term as Vice President. This was one of the consultation meetings she requested with various sectors as she planned the launch of her Anti-Poverty program, now Angat Buhay.
A few weeks before she started her term in office, she invited me to be an adviser to her office to help set up the said program as she was very determined from the very beginning that she would not be an idle Vice President. I barely knew her then…. One thing I remember her saying when she invited me to join her team was, “Rapa alam mo naman, probinsyana ako, wala akong masyadong kilala dito sa Maynila.”
At that time this picture came out, I was still executive director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and I remember receiving a text from one of our staff asking if I was already leaving to work for the newly elected Vice President. …. given the uncertainty of the emerging role of the Vice President then, it was very difficult to predict the workload that would be demanded of me. So I thought it best to just resign from PBSP so I could devote more time with her office.
This decision, while it seemed like a leap of faith, was definitely another life-changing decision I will never forget. The past six years weres filled with new lessons and discoveries about the Vice President, her leadership, and her very young (myself excluded), and dynamic and competent team headed by her Chief of Staff Usec Philip “Boyet” Dy. She and her crew were a very inspiring bunch to work with and watch as they strove for perfection in everything that they sought to do with much courage and empathy for the people they sought to serve. They humbled me no end and they reminded me how important it is to make the most of every moment in my life to be my better self and to be the best that I can be.
Her favorite call to action to all of us whenever she was under siege was ‘Eyes on the ball lang tayo!’
The Vice President, of course, was at the center of all this. She was not a leader who only delegated the work. She was definitely in the thick of things in every initiative she gave birth to. She did not ask people to do things she was not ready to do herself. She was never cowed by the intimidation and harassment from people in power and political opponents. She did not allow them to distract her from the task at hand. Her favorite call to action to all of us whenever she was under siege was “Eyes on the ball lang tayo!!!”
This spirit of generous giving of time, talent and treasure for the past six years morphed into an honest-to-goodness people’s movement during the seven-month presidential campaign where even more Filipinos from all walks life came out openly to support the candidacy of VP Leni.
Many who never got involved in politics all their lives suddenly found themselves getting actively involved in their own ways and means.
The creative sector bloomed with poems, songs, paintings, wall murals, stage presentations like we have never seen.
The rallies became platforms not only for the candidates to introduce themselves but in a more gratifying way it became occasions when each and every person who joined took the opportunity to give of themselves: From actors, singers and performers who entertained the huge crowds for free; the doctors, nurses and other health workers who volunteered as emergency medics; those who brought and set up stalls food, beverages and shared with others; for those who cleaned up the venue after the event and made sure we left the premises as clean if not cleaner than when we occupied it; or simply those who came to be in solidarity with others.
The atmosphere of the rallies gave us a glimpse of what our country could be if each of us asks ourselves, how can I be a gift to the person I will meet today?
Of course, we all hoped that this outpouring of positive and life-giving energy would end up with a Leni Robredo Presidency. But that unfortunately did not materialize.
A common remark I get from friends who looked back on the past six years of Leni Robredo’s vice presidency and her presidential campaign, is “sayang”. Sayang ang lahat ng pagod at sakripisyo ni VP Leni at ng kanya ng mga anak! Sayang ang lahat ng pag-aambag ng mga sumuporta. Sayang ang mga ginawang house to house sa mga iba’t-ibang kumunidad.
To feel regret is indeed very human. I have to admit I have my own fair share of “Sayang moments” especially after many years spent fighting for what I believe is right, fair, just and true.
No candidate in all the campaigns I have seen have gone to so many places in the country
But, what I have come to realize later in life is my regrets only creep in when I get very attached to my expectations for the good that I do. The deeper the attachment to my expectation the deeper my regret.
I discovered that my attachment to my expectations is what blinds me from seeing the real lessons and messages of the various outcomes of my life’s work and journey. And the moment I detach myself from such expectations the more I see and understand clearly why things are the way they are.
The Leni Robredo Vice presidency was never about the desire of Leni Robredo to become President of the Philippines. It was just, plain and simple, her consistent and unflinching desire to be of service to others.
When she offered herself to be a presidential candidate, she went in eyes wide open. The odds were clearly against her. She knew that the climb to victory was steep and the chances of winning were slim. Then again, winning was not the only reason she took on the big challenge. Others would not even think about running with such dim prospects.
For Leni Robredo it was again an opportunity for her to make herself available to our people. And available she was. No candidate in all the campaigns I have seen in my life have gone to so many places in the country.
If we all look back on her six-year vice presidency and her seven- month presidential campaign and just for a moment push aside our previous expectations of her being President, maybe it will help to ask some of these questions: How has Leni Robredo touched my life? If she did touch your life, maybe you can ask another question, What have I been able to do as person because I encountered her? How did I relate with others during her six year term and the 7 month campaign? Was I a better person during those times? Can I continue to be the better person that I discovered during those times?
When I started answering these questions myself, I realized that I do not need Leni Robredo to be President in the next six years.
Walang nasayang!
Thank you all for your kind words and sincere greetings on my birthday. You are all blessings to me.
May the birth of the Angat Buhay Movement be our own rebirth as a People and as Nation.
Read more:
The time I spent with my sunflower
Ang nagmamahal, kailangan ipaglaban ang minamahal
