Leni counts on strength as a mother in handling anti-drug appointment

MANILA- Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday said part of why she accepted the President’s offer for her to lead the anti-drug campaign was her strength as a mother, shooting back at detractors who belittled her abilities as a woman.

“Perhaps it was my instinct as a mother that I accepted this responsibility,” she said during her speech at the Women Influence Forum in Pasay.

“Within my days of acceptance of the designation by the president, statements and fake news pushed by trolls on social media were already coming out insinuating that I lack courage and resolve because I was only a mother and woman,” Robredo, a mother of three, said.

But Robredo pointed out that of all the roles women are made to play, “the role that requires the most courage, the most reason, the most strength is being a mother.”

“So to all mothers and women in this room and across the nation, remember you are made for times like these. And you are meant to survive even the most difficult times,” she told the audience of mostly women.

Robredo was recently appointed as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

• READ: UN body, Robredo meet over new VP-led anti-drug campaign

Robredo’s camp, which has criticized the deaths linked to the drug war, said the new campaign under the vice president will focus on preventing unnecessary killings.

• READ: No ‘wanton killings’ in Leni-led drug war: spokesman