MANILA, Philippines — There are no plans yet to invite Vice President Leni Robredo to attend future Cabinet meetings, former presidential aide and now Senator Christopher “Bong” Go said.
“Hindi pa sila nag-usap ng Pangulo at sa gabinete, wala pa akong naririnig. I’m not authorized to speak on behalf of the executive pero sa pagkakaalam ko, wala pang plano (na imbitahan siya). Maybe kapag pag-uusapan na ang droga,” Go said in an ambush interview after the signing of the manifesto of support to the government’s anti-corruption drive in Malacañang on Wednesday.
(They have not talked yet, I haven’t heard anything from the Cabinet. I’m not authorized to speak on behalf of the executive but from what I know, there are no plans yer to invite her. Maybe she would be invited if it would be about the drug problem).
Last November 6, Robredo accepted the position as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD).
The Vice President already said she would not attend Cabinet meetings unless invited by the Duterte administration.
READ: Robredo to skip Cabinet meetings unless invited
Go, meanwhile, backed Robredo’s request for additional funding in the anti-illegal drug campaign.
“Ako, as a legislator, sabi ko full support ako kung ano ang makatutulong. Basta ang hangarin ay masugpo ang droga,” he said.
(As a legislator, as I’ve said, I’m in full support for whatever can help address the drug problem).
Go also expressed hope that the 2020 budget would be approved before the year ends so that the government would not have to operate on a reenacted budget.
“Bago matapos ang taon, signing na dapat with the President. Ayaw na namin mangyari katulad last year. Mahirap ang reenacted budget. Laki ng losses sa gobyerno. Billions ang nawawala kapag reenacted,” he said.
(Before the year ends, it should already be up for the President’s signing. We don’t a repeat of what happened last year. It’s hard to operate on a reenacted budget. The government suffered big losses. Billions were lost because of the reenacted budget).
As legislators squabbled over questionable allocations and alleged pork barrel insertions, the President signed the P3.7-trillion 2019 budget only in mid-April. /muf