MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday called Vice President Leni Robredo a “colossal blunder” for calling his controversial war on drugs a “massive failure.”
Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Duterte said Robredo, who recently bared her findings during her brief stint at the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), is “talking big” but only won the 2016 elections with a slim margin.
“I hate to say this but how many voters are there in the Philippines? Just do away with the 200,000 plus she got as a majority over (Bongbong) Marcos. It was really a mistake. With a slim margin and you talk big,” Duterte said.
“For all of these years, she has done nothing. She’s a colossal blunder. Colossal blunder,” he stressed.
In her report, Robredo said the government’s drug war is a “failure” as it only hardly scratched the surface of the drug menace despite all the money and resources given by the Duterte administration.
Citing government data, the Vice President said the shabu supply and drug money were only reduced by 1 percent in the last three years. She also recommended that the chairmanship of ICAD be transferred from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to the Dangerous Drugs Board, as the latter, according to her, has the capacity to lead the campaign from all facets.
But the President rejected her recommendation, saying that she does not have the right to lecture him.
“Kung sakali lang maging Presidente siya gawin niya ‘yan. (She can do it if she becomes President) She does not lecture me. I do not have the slightest… as a lawyer lecturing on me, she should revisit her record, I suggest,” he said.