VICE President Leni Robredo said on Friday President Rodrigo Duterte has done many good things in his first year in office, but there were also some failures.
When asked, she refused to rate Duterte in a scale of 1 to 10.
“I think it is unfair if I grade the President. For me, he has done many good things, and [has] many shortcomings. As far as his lapses are concerned, we must work together to help him out,” she said.
“Because the success of the administration is the success of all,” she said. “Let us help the President’s leadership be a success. It is the obligation of each one of us.”
Robredo did not say what Duterte’s lapses were.
“There will always be shortcomings of the government because of the mounting needs of our citizenry no matter how hard one has worked,” she said.
She also declined to rate herself.
Former senator and vice presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Duterte remained popular after his first year because of the quality of his leadership.
“He has shown that leadership both in our local and foreign policies. For example, he has redirected our foreign policy and that is the reason why we have regained once again a crucial and important position in the international community to the benefit of the Philippines. It is the same with various domestic policies. I think the Filipino people recognize that. Only a good leader can do that and he managed to do just that.”
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, however, described Duterte’s first year in office as a “dangerous year to be a woman.”
“It is the year of misogyny and extrajudicial killings. It is a year of national grieving.” she said.
Speaking during a women’s forum at the Ateneo De Manila University, Hontiveros said Duterte’s first year in office should be a “day of remembrance” for the victims of extrajudicial killings.
Senator Francis Escudero, on the other hand, said the Philippines was still the star among Southeast Asian economies.
“To be fair to the Duterte administration, the economy has been relatively healthy,” Escudero said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta
