Robredo says her opposition to Marcos burial prompted her ouster

VP leni robredo addresses the nation on her resignation as a member of the duterte cabinet at the office of the vice president in quezon city on monday, december 5, 2016. INQUIRER PHOTO/ GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Vice President Leni Robredo believes that her strong opposition on the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was the main reason why President Rodrigo Duterte decided to stop her from attending Cabinet meetings.

Convinced that the reason was not related to her performance as the Housing chief, Robredo said she “would presume” that her stance against the Marcos burial prompted Duterte to “ease [her] out of the Cabinet.”

Asked if Duterte’s move was to pave way for former Senator Bongbong Marcos’ taking over the vice presidency, Robredo said it would be “unfair” to accuse the President of indirectly firing her from his Cabinet to give way to the younger Marcos.

“We can only speculate. It would also be unfair to him to assume that this is the reason but at least that’s what I see. The last public statement that I issued was maybe the most immediate reason because if you would listen to the statements of Secretaries Abella and Andanar, [they said that] this [matter] is not housing-related,” Robredo said.

Earlier Monday, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Robredo, in her brief stint as Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDDCC) chair, was able to defend the interests of the housing agency.

Andanar also quoted President Duterte as saying: “It is with a heavy heart that I accept the resignation of Vice President Leni Robredo.”

Robredo formally tendered her resignation on Monday morning following an instruction from the President for her to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings” starting Monday.