Vice President-elect Duterte seeks meeting with outgoing VP Robredo

Vice President Leni Robredo and Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President-elect Sara Duterte has formally sought an initial meeting with Vice President Leni Robredo, whom she once referred to as a “fake VP,” for a smooth transition of power.

The outgoing Davao City mayor has already “communicated formally” with the Office of the Vice President (OVP), said Mayor Christina Frasco, spokesperson for Duterte.

Frasco said this was to ensure a “smooth, orderly and comprehensive” transition between Robredo and Duterte, who had scheduled her inauguration on June 19, 11 days earlier than the usual date of inauguration for the newly elect president and vice president.

A formal communication was also sent by Duterte to the office of Education Secretary Leonor Briones, as the former is set to be appointed by President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to head the Department of Education (DepEd).

But Frasco could not provide yet other details.

“As the transition process is still ongoing entailing detailed discussions on all aspects of the workings of the OVP and the DepEd, information on the completion of this process will be released once available,” she said in a text message.

Duterte confirmed on Thursday that her office would complete its transition with Robredo’s office and that she would send a letter signed by her to Robredo requesting a meeting.

1st meeting since 2015

Robredo’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, said the vice president would be issuing a statement confirming the details of the meeting between the two.

It will be the first time for both Duterte and Robredo to meet since the administration of the former’s father began in 2016. The last time they met, which was made known to the public, was in 2015 when the two met for lunch.

Duterte had often criticized Robredo in the past, and even called her in 2019 a “fake VP” and added that the latter “has tried to copy her late husband but has failed at every turn,” referring to the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

She was responding to Robredo’s statement during the 2019 midterm elections when Duterte said all candidates lie while the incumbent Vice President said honesty was a crucial factor to anyone running for public office.

Duterte lambasted Robredo back then for her victory over Marcos Jr., the defeated vice presidential candidate in the 2016 elections, saying “she (Robredo) is not called fake VP for no reason.”

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