GRAVE MATTERS, COMIC FLAIR To lighten up the five-hour National Security Council meeting on Wednesday, President Duterte used his famous comic flair, at one time spicing up the serious discussion with a reference to “the beautiful Vice President,” Leni Robredo, seated beside him. OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
President Rodrigo Duterte over the weekend gave instructions for Vice President Robredo to “desist” from attending Cabinet meetings — pushing her to resign from the Cabinet effective Dec. 5.
Robredo hinted that “the events of recent days” indicate that “a plot to steal the Vice Presidency… is now being set into motion.”
In a statement on Sunday, Robredo said Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco, Jr., relayed Duterte’s instruction through his executive assistant Bong Go for her to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting this Monday, December 5.”
“This is the last straw, because it makes it impossible for me to perform my duties. Hence, I am tendering my resignation from the Cabinet on Monday, December 5, 2016,” Robredo announced in a statement on Sunday evening.
She also said that “as your duly elected Vice President, I will not allow the Vice Presidency to be stolen.”
“I will not allow the will of the people to be thwarted. I will continue to serve the Filipino family and fulfill their dream for a better life,” she said.
She said that as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, the agency has had “solid accomplishments” in the past five months.
This was despite the “obstacles” of a P19-billion budget cut for all key shelter agencies, and inaction on appointment recommendations and the executive order to make the HUDCC more effective, she said.
She said resigning from the Cabinet would still allow her to “continue to support the positive initiatives of this administration and oppose those that are inimical to the people’s interest.”
Leni fired?
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, said “considering the situation, I think she (Robredo) is fired.”
It may be recalled that Robredo, who won 14,418,817 votes in the last election, defeated former Senator Bongbong Marcos by a razor-thin margin of 263,473. Marcos is currently protesting her proclamation before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.
On October 20, Duterte himself brought up the possibility that “if [Bongbong] wins in his protest, he could be our vice president” during his state visit to China.
The following is Robredo’s full statement released to the media:
“We had hoped this day would not come.
“I had been warned of a plot to steal the Vice Presidency. I have chosen to ignore this and focus on the job at hand. But the events of recent days indicate that this plot is now being set into motion.
“From the very beginning, the President and I had major differences in principles and values. Since I assumed office, I have been consistent in my opposition to issues such as the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, extra-judicial killings, reinstating death penalty, lowering the age of criminal liability, and sexual attacks against women.
“But we both had a mandate to serve the people. I had hoped that this shared commitment to the poor and marginalized would transcend the differences between us. So, I took the job of Housing Secretary when it was offered to me.
“In barely five months, we have solid accomplishments in HUDCC. This, despite the obstacles thrown our way, which are: One, the budget for all key shelter agencies in 2017 has been slashed by more than P19 billion. Two, all our key shelter agency appointment recommendations have not been acted on.
“Three, the Executive Order designed to make HUDCC effective was not signed. Then, we received a text message last Saturday from Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco, Jr., relaying the President’s instruction through Bong Go for me “to desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting this Monday, December 5.”
“This is the last straw, because it makes it impossible for me to perform my duties. Hence, I am tendering my resignation from the Cabinet on Monday, December 5, 2016.
“With this resignation, you can expect that I will continue to support the positive initiatives of this administration and oppose those that are inimical to the people’s interest However, as your duly elected Vice President, I will not allow the Vice Presidency to be stolen. I will not allow the will of the people to be thwarted. I will continue to serve the Filipino family and fulfill their dream for a better life.”/rga