MANILA, Philippines – During the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of EDSA, Representative Leni Robredo told her opponent for the vice presidency, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, "Hindi nagsisinungaling ang datos." (Facts don't lie.)
This was in response to his previous statement that EDSA I "disrupted" his father’s plans.
Marcos criticized the current administration's failures – sustaining literacy rates, lowering fuel costs and distributing sustainable sources of power, and completing infrastructure projects.
Robredo however said it was easy to say the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos was a better time, but the facts showed otherwise.
"Madali langmag-claim otherwise, pero 'yun nga, 'yung datos makakasabi na kung ano talaga." (It’s easy to claim otherwise, but it's the data that will say what really happened.)
"Compare natin kung nasaan tayo noong rehimen ni Marcos, kung nasaan tayo ngayon. Siguro kung nagpatuloy nga 'yung rehimen ni Marcos noon, ewan ko kung nasaan na tayo pinulot ngayon," Robredo said.
(Let's compare where we were under the Marcos regime to where we are now. If the Marcos regime continued, I don't know where we'd be now.)
Marcos previously said his father had big plans for the country, but the People Power Revolution cut these short.
He has also consistently defended his father's administration, and has refused to apologize for human rights abuses under martial law. (READ: Marcos on dad's regime: What am I to apologize for?)
Robredo, however, thinks there has to be a reevaluation of the Philippines before and after EDSA.
She said, "Pinapakita na after EDSA doon tayo medyo nakabawi at patuloy tayong aangat ngayon." (We can see that we started recovering after EDSA and we continue to progress now.)
Robredo also expressed her wish that the youth understand the situation during EDSA I, and that those who lived through it would teach the youth about it. "Kasi mahirap yung hindi pahalagahan yung mga sakripisyo para makamtan yung kalayaan na nararamdaman natin ngayon."
(It's hard when people do not appreciate the sacrifices that were made to achieve the freedoms we enjoy today.) – Rappler.com