MANILA, Philippines – Vice President and newly-appointed anti-drug czar Leni Robredo need not attend Cabinet meetings if the war on drugs is not on the agenda, Malacañang said Thursday.
“I will invite her as long as it is about her drug operations. But if not, no need [to invite her],” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo quoted Duterte as saying in an interview on CNN Philippines.
“The President told me that. She should be happy,” Panelo added.
“She should be happy because if you are a member of the Cabinet, you will be there until the wee hours listening and it’s not your turf,” added Panelo.
In a Palace briefing, Panelo said it is optional for every Cabinet member to attend the Cabinet meeting if their concern is not on the agenda.
“When we have a Cabinet meeting, we are invited by the Cabinet Secretary, and we are asked if we are going or not. In other words, it is optional for us to attend because if it’s not your topic there, you’ll have to stay there for the rest of the meeting until the wee hours of the morning,” he said.
He said Duterte has not sent an invitation to Robredo to attend the Cabinet meeting.
Robredo accepted Duterte’s offer to be co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD) after the opposition stalwart criticized the current administration’s bloody war on drugs.
Panelo earlier said Robredo’s new post is a Cabinet rank.