Despite their differences, Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday said she bears no grudges against President Rodrigo Duterte. She, however, expressed regret that she was not able to establish a partnership with Duterte.
“None, none,” she said when asked over a radio interview if she was harboring any resentment against the President.
“Maybe, if there is something that I feel, it is regret. It is more on regret [because] even if we come from different positions, even if we have different beliefs, from the very start I believe there were things that we could have agreed on,” she said.
“We were given the opportunity to work together…[That it did not work out,] for me, it was regrettable,” Robredo added.
Meanwhile, Robredo urged the government to extend incentives to telecommunication firms to encourage them to be more aggressive in bringing their services to far-flung communities and arrest the slow internet connection in the country.
“They are not being aggressive now due to many hindrances. For example, the number one hindrance is that a telco is considered a public utility that needs a congressional franchise,” she said. The 85-year-old Public Service Act must be amended to ensure that a legislative franchise would no longer be needed for a telco company to operate, she said.
A common tower for all telcos and government intervention toward this end is also necessary to make “Government intervention is much needed because the government is the only one that could fix this by having all telcos work together. This is how we can level the investments,” she said.
