Only VP Duterte can confirm reason for Cabinet exit, solons say

MANILA, Philippines — Only Vice President Sara Duterte can confirm if she left President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet due to differences in position on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, lawmakers said on Monday.

In a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex, members of the House of Representatives “Young Guns” bloc — La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon — were asked if they think Duterte resigned from her Cabinet roles because of her being against the WPS policy.

Ortega in response said he does not want to speculate what the Vice President’s stand is, adding that it would be better if she addresses this issue once and for all.

“It’s hard to assume what the Vice President’s stand is because we cannot really speak for her until she comes out with a statement of some sort,” Ortega said.

“I think it’s hard to give an opinion on that matter. It would be better if they release their own statement given that her office has been releasing several statements recently, maybe they can release statements regarding important and big issues involving our country,” he added.

When asked about Marcos’ statements last April where he defended Duterte’s silence on issues involving the WPS and China, Ortega and Bongalon believe the President was only espousing a united stand among members of the Cabinet including the Vice President, the second-highest official of the land.

“It seems so that we can see from that time, the President really just wanted unity and, of course, part of the unity that the President is fighting for is us being one against threats; we have to be united against someone who’s trying to invade our country of some sort,” Ortega said.

“I guess we cannot fault the President in defending the VP before, because as the President, he believes that the VP being the second highest ranking official of the government, maybe he thinks that they should have one position regarding the WPS issue.  But of course, again, we cannot speculate, we cannot assume unless and until the VP releases a statement,” Bongalon added.

Last April 13, in a briefing with Filipino reporters after the trilateral summit in the United States, Marcos was asked about Duterte’s silence on China’s aggressive actions over the WPS, which included the ramming and water cannon attacks against resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.

According to Marcos last April, Duterte confirmed the government’s official stand against China’s aggressive and intrusive behavior in the WPS, adding that it is not the role of the Vice President or the Education secretary to speak on foreign affairs matters.

READ: Marcos: VP Sara is part of admin’s stand vs China on West Philippine Sea

Adiong, for his part, hopes that public officials can speak on important issues and be more vocal about their preference for the Philippines.

According to the Lanao del Sur lawmaker, taking a stand for the Philippines is not meant to boost the Marcos administration, but is intended to ensure the Philippines’ security in the future.

“For me, I hope to hear, especially public officials, to speak on matters that matter to the Filipinos in general, the fight against transnational crimes, fight to protect our territorial sovereignty. So these are the things I guess the people would want to hear from the people […] And the VP, she has yet to release her own position on the said matters,” Adiong said.

“This is not only to support the administration, but these are issues if ever we can come up with a solid stand, will not only benefit President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s policy, but also your children and generations to come,” he added.

Duterte has been hit with criticism for her statements since she resigned from the cabinet last June 19.  When Duterte announced that she would not be attending Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address and was instead appointing herself as the “designated survivor,” several lawmakers and observers felt the joke was done in bad taste — as if a veiled threat that something wrong might happen during the event.

READ: ‘Reckless’: House solons slam VP Duterte’s ‘designated survivor’ remark

Then, when Duterte complained about the removal of 75 police officers from her security detail, past and present solons were quick to remind her that she still had over 300 — with former Office of the Vice President spokesperson Barry Gutierrez saying that this was still three times greater than what ex-Vice President Leni Robredo had.

Duterte also drew flak for supposedly making it appear that her security was depleted when the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that 400 military officers were securing her.

According to Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, having this number might be excessive.

READ: 400 AFP officers securing VP Duterte? That’s excessive, solon says

Several media outfits including INQUIRER.net have asked the Office of the Vice President for its response to the criticisms hurled at Duterte, but it has not issued any response as of this writing.