Leni Robredo

She was the first of three children born to Naga City Regional Trial Court Judge Antonio Gerona (c. 1933–2013) and Salvacion Santo Tomas (1936–2020).

Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo ( Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

Leni Robredo was born as Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona on April 23, 1965, in Naga, Camarines Sur, Philippines.

Robredo attended the basic education department of Universidad de Sta. Isabel in Naga, graduating from elementary school in 1978, and from high school in 1982.

She earned her degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of the Philippines School of Economics at UP Diliman in 1986, and proceeded to study law at the University of Nueva Caceres, graduating in 1992.

Gerona chose to temporarily forego law studies and instead decided to work as a researcher for the Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), a government agency tasked with integrated area development planning in the three provinces of the Bicol Region.

Here she met then-program director Jesse Robredo, who would eventually become her husband.

In addition, Robredo founded the Lakas ng Kababaihan ng Naga Federation (Women Power of Naga Federation), an organization that provides training and livelihood opportunities for women, in 1989.

She passed the bar exams on her second attempt in 1996 and was admitted to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in May 1997.

Following her admission, Robredo served in the Public Attorney's Office, a role in which she often took up the defense for cases pursued by her husband, who by then had become Mayor of Naga.

From 1998 to 2008, Robredo became the coordinator of Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligan (SALIGAN), a Naga-based alternative legal support group.

SALIGAN's work aimed to encourage young legal professionals to take on leadership roles, and involved visiting distant rural communities to provide legal services to residents who would otherwise have little or no access to such services, as well as conducting legal advocacy by proposing amendments and new laws based on the needs of these marginalized communities.

Later, the group's focus shifted to include helping rural women to acquire capital in order to participate in competitive markets.

In 2012, Robredo was named the chairperson of the Liberal Party in Camarines Sur.

She previously served as the representative of the 3rd district of Camarines Sur from 2013 to 2016.

Robredo ran in Camarines Sur's 3rd congressional district during the Philippine general elections of 2013.

On May 16, 2013, she was proclaimed winner, beating Nelly Favis-Villafuerte (of Nationalist People's Coalition/United Nationalist Alliance), wife of former Congressman Luis Villafuerte and member of the politically powerful Villafuerte dynasty.

During her term in congress, Robredo was the vice chairman of the House committees on good governance, public accountability, and revision of laws, and a member of 11 other house panels.

She was known for being a strong advocate of the Freedom of Information Act, and a strong supporter of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Participatory governance and transparency were the major objectives and thrusts of Robredo's legislative agenda.

The first law Robredo authored in congress was the Full Disclosure Policy Bill (HB 19), which would have mandated all government agencies and their sub-units and projects to disclose their budget and financial transactions in a conspicuous manner "without any requests from the public."

Concerned that the marginalized sector should not be denied access to government frontline services and public meetings based on their attire, she sponsored the Open Door Policy Act (House Bill No. 6286), which prohibits government offices and agencies from implementing strict dress codes.

Robredo also authored the People Empowerment Bill (HB 4911 ), which sought to allow more participation from Filipinos in decision and policy-making, and the Participatory Budget Process Bill (HB 3905), which sought to increase participation in budget-related decisions in government projects by locals.

She also wrote the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill (HB 3432) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, language, disability, HIV status, etc.

To promote transparency in the taxation process, she sponsored the house version (House Bill 05831) of what would eventually become Republic Act RA10708, the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act of 2009 (TIMTA).

Other major legislation co-authored by Robredo includes the Anti-Dynasty Bill and the Healthy Beverage Options Act (House Bill 4021).

As a member of the 16th Congress, Robredo was one of the principal authors of the house version of "The Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA)" (Republic Act RA10708, House Bill 05831), which was enacted on December 9, 2015.

She also co-authored the house version of the following laws: the “National Children’s Month Act,” Republic Act RA10661 (HB01641) enacted on May 29, 2015, declaring the celebration of the national children's month on November of every year; the "Charter of the Quezon City Development Authority," Republic Act RA10646 (HB03899), lapsed into law on November 8, 2014; the "Open High School System Act," Republic Act RA10665 (HB04085) enacted on July 9, 2015, establishing and appropriating funds for the open high school system; Republic Act RA10638 (HB04089), extending the corporate life of the Philippine National Railways for another 50 years, enacted on June 16, 2014; Republic Act RA10707 (HB04147), amending the "Probation Law of 1976" enacted on November 26, 2015, rationalizing and strengthening the probation system; the "Graphic Health Warnings Law," Republic Act RA10643 (HB04590), enacted on November 15, 2014, prescribing the printing of graphic health warnings on tobacco products; Republic Act RA10655 (HB05280), decriminalizing premature remarriages, enacted on March 13, 2015; and the "Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act.of 2015," Republic Act RA10742 (HB06043), enacted on January 15, 2016.

Robredo narrowly defeated Bongbong Marcos, the son of the ousted dictator and kleptocrat Ferdinand Marcos, in the contested 2016 vice presidential election.

After an electoral protest by Bongbong Marcos, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal found no signs of fraud and her lead was slightly widened.

She is the second woman to serve as vice president of the Philippines, after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and the first vice president from the Bicol Region.

Robredo has spearheaded multiple programs in the Office of the Vice President (OVP); her flagship anti-poverty program, Angat Buhay, has helped address key areas including education, rural development, and healthcare, in partnership with more than 300 organizations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the OVP under Robredo responded by providing free shuttle services for frontline workers, swab tests, telehealth services, and raised funds for relief operations across the country.

Robredo was awarded by the government of Thailand in 2016 for her work and advocacy in women's empowerment and gender equality.

Under her leadership, the OVP also received the ISO 9001: 2015 certification for the office's quality management systems.

During her vice presidency, she served as the chair of the Liberal Party and de facto leader of the opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, where she was appointed by Duterte and briefly served as the chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.

She has received backlash from government supporters for her being staunchly critical to Duterte's policies such as the war on drugs, counter-insurgency initiatives, COVID-19 pandemic response, and soft stance toward China.

She has been a constant target of disinformation, with many articles making false claims about her personal life to discredit her.

Robredo announced her presidential campaign in the 2022 presidential elections with Liberal Party leader and Senator Francis Pangilinan as her running mate.

However, she widely lost the election to Bongbong Marcos.