Depending on who you ask, Vice President Leni Robredo could be described as either a soccer mom or a tiger mom.

“This is my version, but it’s quite intense when you hear it from my daughters,” Robredo said in a recent roundtable interview with Lifestyle reporters. “I get ribbed about it so many times because they say that when they were much younger, I was a tiger mom.”

The Vice President recalled the time when she was a “fixture” at the gate of Universidad de Sta. Isabel in Naga City, as she would drive her daughters—Aika, Tricia and Jillian—to and from school.

Before 7 a.m., Robredo would drop off her daughters, then come back at noon to pick them up for lunch break. She would bring them back to school for the afternoon, and pick them up after class dismissal.

However, the day was far from over for the family. From school, Robredo would drive her kids to music lessons and swim practice.

The car would be packed with everything the girls needed—piano or violin pieces, swimming accessories and snacks—“just like a soccer mom,” Robredo said.

Tough routine

While the kids were busy with their after-school activities, Robredo would outline the lessons they would peruse after dinner. They would come home at around 9 p.m., have dinner and then study again.

The routine that Robredo had set was tough, not just for Aika, Tricia and Jillian, but also for the hands-on mom herself. Robredo juggled her responsibilities at home while working as a human rights lawyer. Preparations for hearings had to wait until the kids hit the sack. And because the girls were born six years apart, she was still on soccer mom mode even while her eldest was already in college.

“With the benefit of hindsight, even though my kids always laugh at me, they say that the rigid childhood discipline that I imparted was beneficial to them,” she said. “When they were in high school and in college, they were still as hardworking and driven without the need for supervision.”

Robredo raised achiever daughters who would make any parent beam with pride. The eldest, Aika, graduated with a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School. (Robredo described her eldest as her better version—more detail-oriented and a better cook.) Tricia is a doctor who often volunteers at the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) Swab Cab or mobile testing program and vaccination drives. Jillian, the youngest, is set to graduate with a biomolecular science degree from New York University this May.

The kids not only excel in academics; they’re also independent when it comes to chores. Robredo said that the girls can go by for months without help.

Making sacrifices

“I think all the sacrifices I made when they were much younger really paid off,” she said.

Tricia recalled in a 2021 Facebook post that working closely with her mother reminded her of grade school, when her mother would push her to do better in school by adjusting their approach.

“I found myself in a similar situation the other week when I felt we were already doing so much and you saying we could still do more. I thought it was already borderline ambitious, but apparently this is what it’s like having you as a boss,” Tricia wrote.

The younger Robredo observed that the Vice President’s management approach was somewhat similar to her parenting style—being present, hardworking, “first one in and last one out.”

At work, Robredo would turn in late, making sure that necessities have been dispatched before she turns in for the night. She wakes up early for work, with the workday often running 18 hours long.

Even with the elections coming up, the presidential aspirant does not let the busy campaign get in the way of the OVP’s projects. The Swab Cab remains in full swing, as well as the Bayanihan E-Konsulta. The OVP is also still busy with Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Difficult decision

“Even if I am a presidential candidate, I have responsibilities as vice president. So, I tell my campaign team we need to manage, we can’t just shelf what we’ve been doing in the OVP to be in the campaign,” she said in the interview.

Running for public office has always been a difficult decision for Robredo and her daughters—one that always includes a crying session.

When Robredo stepped up as the Liberal Party’s vice presidential bet, her decision was met with resistance from her children, such that they had to seek help from a spiritual adviser to help the kids process the sudden turn of events.

Her current bid for presidency has been the hardest yet for the family as the girls were already looking forward to a life out of politics, according to Robredo. But despite their apprehensions, the girls are always ready to support their mom—the way their mom has supported them throughout the years. “They are able to set aside their resentments about it, and they always ask, ‘How can we be of help?’” she said. INQ