Leni to Cayetano: Voicing out doesn’t mean I want to be president

Vice President Leni Robredo at the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum. ARNOLD ALMACENN/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday reiterated that her being vocal against certain policies of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration does not mean she has an ambition of replacing Duterte.

“Parati ko iyon inuulit, before until now. Wala naman ako ganoong pangarap (I keep reiterating this, before until now. I don’t have ambitions like that). I want this administration to succeed,” Robredo told reporters at the Quezon City Reception House on Friday.

But for the administration to succeed, Robredo said they should also pay attention to dissenting voices.

“Hindi ko sasabihin na kapag nag-didissent tayo, tayo na iyong gustong maging Pangulo (I’m not saying that if we dissent, we want to be President),” she added.

This was her response to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s rebuttal to her challenge to speak up against the Marcoses, particularly the burial of the family’s patriarch late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in spite of his loyalty to the President.

During the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum on Thursday, Robredo said: “I would have hoped that the outrage he showed during campaign period against the Marcoses would still be the same until now.”

“We understand that he’s fully supportive of the President but I don’t think that’s enough reason for him to keep quiet because we know fully aware of the sins of the Marcoses against the people,” Robredo added.

In a strongly worded message on his Facebook account, Cayetano hit Robredo, challenging her back to “stop campaigning and thinking of The Presidency” and instead “help attract investments, build infrastructure, create jobs and redistribute wealth in our country.”

Cayetano ran alongside Duterte during the May elections but lost to Robredo. Both Cayetano and Robredo have been very critical of the Marcos family, including the late strongman’s son and namesake former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who also ran for vice president.

Cayetano also challenged Robredo to tell her allies in the Liberal Party, backed by former President Benigno Aquino III, who have alleged drug links to “resign and be jailed.”

He said Robredo should also ask her partymates to seek justice for the “SAF 44” or the 44 Special Action Force troopers killed in the Mamasapano debacle, the “tanim bala” victims, and the “anomalies” in the maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit. JE/rga