The Vice President was the keynote speaker during the 2017
Ramon Magsaysay Awards last night.
This year’s laureates are Tony Tay of Singapore, Gethsie
Shanmugam of Sri Lanka, Lilia de Lima of the Philippines, Yoshiaki
Ishizawa of Japan, Abdon Nababan of Indonesia and the Philippine Education
Theater Association. *
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| Vice-President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo (photo credit to cnnphils) |
In her speech, she highlighted and urged leaders to give
utmost attention to “the last, the least and the lost” and put others first
before themselves amid the "deficit of hope and surplus of anger and
frustration."
Robredo said that progress is not real if people are left
behind.
“If we want to see even more growth, exciting innovation and
prosperity, we must accept the fact that we cannot move forward without taking
care of each other and making sure that no one is left behind,” she said.
It because of the negligence of those in power, people are “drowning
in anger and frustration”, she said.
She emphasized the need for transformational leaders in this
time of the world.
“Our world today has great need of you: those who would
attempt to take on trenchant difficulties no matter the personal cost and
sacrifice, those who would not do something not because it is easy but because
no else will take on the challenge, and those who are living examples of
transformative leadership and inspiring service.” Vice-President said.
The Vice –President also noted that leaders should also
possess determination amid adversaries, respect for human dignity and faith in
power of collective action. *
“These awardees address real and complex issues, take bold
and innovative actions that engage others to do likewise and create outcomes
that ordinary individual can feel. They show unbelievable courage, initiative
when faced with resource gaps, fight daunting adversaries and strong
opposition,” she said.
Reports from PhilStar
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