‘Iba pa rin ang pagtingin’: VP Leni points out the double standard for women in politics
Vice President Leni Robredo shared the stigma that comes with female politicians as compared to their male counterparts.
During a guesting in the Wake up with Jim and Saab podcast, the VP was asked what were the most absurd rumors that she’s come across as a politician.
“Hay ang rami, napakarami, Saab. Number one is that I cheated on the elections. Number two is meron akong boyfriend. May inuuwian akong ibang bahay.”
When asked about the sexist undertones of the boyfriend rumors, the VP went on to say that “the reality is that, yung society natin double standard pa rin talaga ang pagtingin.”
She went on to give an example of how male and female employees are perceived, as the male employee would be expected to go out with friends during a night out, while a women would be marked as a bad mother if she did.
“Ganon pa din ang standard natin eh. We’ve achieved a lot of great strides already as far as women empowerment is concerned, but we have to keep our eyes open on the fact na iba parin talaga ang pagtingin.”
“So for women politicians, very vulnerable kami... Halimbawa ako, wala naman ako asawa pero pag napabalita ako na may boyfriend, masamang babae ako. Pero yung point nga hindi totoo eh, pero yung tao naniniwala kasi yun yung naririnig nilang paulit ulit.”
She went on to say that it's important to fight the hearsay, connecting the situation to the 2016 vice presidential election against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who has appealed for numerous recounts. The Supreme Court junked the five-year litigation in February 2021.
Listen to the podcast here:
Screengrab from Wake Up With Jim & Saab YouTube channel