VICE President Leni Robredo said “I’ve never looked at aid from other countries as a beggar-donor relationship.”
“Many have come to the Office of the Vice President offering help, and I believe it is borne out of a sincere and unconditional desire to help,” she told the Partnerships Against Poverty Summit held at SMX, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
“I have also come to discover that giving aid is not just about a donor and a donee, and that the donee is not the only party benefitting from such an arrangement.”
Robredo reacted to President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance that foreign grants and aid were just “crumbs.”
“For me, it is also a partnership of two parties, finding ways and means to find the best solutions to the complex problems of the world,” Robredo said.
“Our relationship with our foreign neighbors is not a one-way street, where we are the only one on the receiving end.”
“As such is not about a country begging from another, but about human beings who recognize each other’s limitations, and their need to harness their unique gifts and strengths, for the benefit of the greatest number who remain vulnerable.”
The Vice President previously said she was hoping the European Union and the United States of America would not withdraw their grants and aid for the Philippines. Duterte told EU and US that the Philippines did not need their help.
“I received letters from the business community, domestic and foreign NGOs, embassies, multilateral and international aid organizations, each one offering funding support, expertise, and experience through their unique programs and services,” she added.
“I like to think that it’s a human response to show mercy, compassion, regardless of our nationalities, our race, our religion, and even our political beliefs, our race, our religion and even our political beliefs.”
She said each other countries’ diversity and difference must never be a barrier to reach out to each other when anyone is in need.
“The problems we face require building bridges, not walls,” she said, adding “they require collaboration, not polarization. We will succeed faster if we include, not exclude.”
