We could have been more vigorous in presenting facts about PNoy admin –Robredo

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday said she could have been more vigorous in presenting the facts about the late former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III administration amid the disinformation that hounded his leadership.

"Para sa akin, 'yun 'yung kulang na ginawa namin, na sana mas nag-exert kami ng effort para ipakita na, hindi naman in-announce lahat ng accomplishments, na ipakita 'yung hindi tama na lumalabas," said Robredo during her weekly radio program.

(We should've exerted more effort to show, not his accomplishments, but to show that there was misinformation being spread.)

"Kahit na wala na siya, at yun regret namin. Pero obligasyon din namin naipakita sa tao kung ano ang totoo. Every chance na bigyan kami, ipapakita namin kung ano ang totoo," she added.

(Even if he is not here anymore, and that is our regret. Our obligation to show the people the truth. With every chance, we will show them the facts.)

Admitting that she failed to visit Aquino during the pandemic, Robredo lamented that there was a lack of appreciation for Aquino's public service.

"Dahil personal na kaibigan, maraming regrets na sana pinaalam nating mas maayos na ma-appreciate kung anong ginawa niya," Robredo said.

(As a personal friend, we regret not letting him know how much we appreciated everything he had done.)

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Robredo said history would give Aquino his due despite criticisms thrown against him.

During the radio program, Robredo cited the several public-private partnership infrastructure projects started during Aquino's presidency:

•    Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway
•    Beep Card Implementation
•    Skyway Stage 3 (opened January 2021)
•    LRT-2 East Extension Project (to be opened July 2021)
•    NLEX-SLEX Connector Road (to be opened in 2022)
•    Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 (Opened on June 7,2018)
•    Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (Nov. 5, 2018)
•    LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project (partial opening in 2021)
•    Cavite-Laguna Expressway (partial opening in 2019)

Robredo also pointed out that foreign direct investments to the country improved during the Aquino administration, from $11.77 billion in 2005-2010 to $28.70 billion from 2011 to 2016. It then decreased to $28.42 billion from the period of 2017-2019.

Robredo explained that this improvement affected taxes and generated employment.

The Vice President also mentioned the Transparency International study which showed Philippine ranking in the Corruption Perception Index rising to 146th in 2010 then dropping to 101st in 2016.

The Philippines' corruption perception ranking fell to 115th in 2020.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Philippines increased from 1.1% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2010, Robredo said.

In 2011, the Philippines' GDP decreased to 3.8% due to the overhaul.

But Robredo said the country's GDP steadied starting 2012 until 2019, when GDP ranged from 6.3% to 7.1%.

In 2020, the country's GDP shrank to -9.5% because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aquino, the 15th President of the Philippines, died peacefully in his sleep last Thursday. At 61, Aquino succumbed to renal disease secondary to diabetes. — DVM, GMA News