Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo called for empathy and transformative leadership amid the “prevailing hate and frustration” among the public.

Robredo made the call during the presentation of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, considered the Nobel Peace Prize of Asia.

“Whenever the Ramon Magsaysay awards is held, it gives us a dose of hope…hope in humanity, and hope in our ability to take care of each other. We need it during these extraordinary times when there is deficiency of hope and courage, and there is a surplus of anger and frustration,” Robredo said.





“Here in this room, I know I am in good company because while we all have challenges to face, we want to work to make the impossible, possible. Raging fires start with tiny flames, and we have six beautiful flames. That’s why

I believe hatred and divisiveness will not be the ethos of our time, and that empathy and transformative leadership will win the day,” she added.

The Ramon Magsaysay awardees, Robredo said, were able to succeed in their endeavors because they showed empathy and worked with the people.

“There is a creeping narrative that democracy has failed mankind and that freedom only made the poor remain poor while the rich gained. There are those saying it’s time for change, but are we willing to throw away our freedom, rights and old fashioned values of empathy and collaboration?” she said.

“All of the awardees worked with people and communities. This is because what we do will have an impact on another, whether we like it or not. We cannot move forward if we don’t take care of each other.”