Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday poked fun at Representative Vicente Veloso’s claim that the vice president was removed from the line of succession in the proposed federal constitution to avoid ‘instability.’
“Iyong medyo nakakatawa, iyong statement ni Congressman Veloso, iyong Chairman (House committee on constitutional amendments), na kaya daw nila iyon inilagay kasi hindi daw alam kung sino talaga iyong vice president dahil sa protest case,” Robredo said in an interview in Bacolod City.
(The statement of Congressman Veloso is funny. He said they included that in the draft charter because they don’t know who the real VP is because of the ongoing electoral protest.)
She was referring to Veloso’s statement on Monday that it is hard to pass the presidency to a government official who is currently facing an electoral protest.
According to the lawmaker, the margin between Robredo and losing vice presidential candidate and former Senator Bongbong Marcos is merely 200,000 votes.
Robredo, however, clapped back, asking if Veloso’s mandate as a lawmaker should be stripped from him as well since he won against his opponent by a slimmer margin.
“Parang, sa akin lang, ipapaalala ko lang sa kaniya na ako, iyong lamang ko kay Mr. Marcos, more than 200,000. Siya, iyong lamang niya sa eleksyon, less than 100. Mayroon ding protest laban sa kaniya,” Robredo noted.
(I just want to remind him that I won by a margin of 200,000 votes against Mr. Marcos. He won in the election by a mere 100 votes. There is also a protest against him.)
“Gusto bang sabihin, dapat sana before natapos iyong protest case, huwag muna siyang umupo bilang congressman, at hindi muna niya puwedeng gawin iyong mandato niya dahil mayroong protest?” she asked.
(Does it mean then that he can’t serve his term as a congressman and he can’t serve his mandate until the protest case is resolved?)
Under Article XVII, Section 4 of a draft Charter filed by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies on Sunday, the Senate President would succeed the president, in case the office is declared vacant.
READ: VP out of power succession aims to avoid ‘instability’ in leadership
The Vice President has denounced the draft constitution, saying that it is a ‘desperate move’ to unseat her.
“Naisip ko, parang masyado naman yatang desperado. Lahat na lang iniisip kung paano ako matanggal. May kaso sa Supreme Court. Siguro alam nila na hindi magpo-prosper,” she said.
(I think it is a desperate move. They’ve thought of every means to remove me from power. There is a case at the Supreme Court. Maybe they know that it’s not going to prosper.) /ee
READ: Leni hits ‘desperate move’ to ditch her