Vice President Leni Robredo (left), shown here during her first visit to then newly inaugurated President Rodrigo Duterte, was disinvited to the Vin d’honneur in Malacañang due to a ‘limited guest list,’ her spokesperson said Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. INQUIRER FILE
Malacañang sent an invitation to Vice President Leni Robredo for the first Vin d’honneur of President Rodrigo Duterte but it was withdrawn due to a “limited guest list,” an official of the Office of the Vice President said on Wednesday.
“Our office received an invitation to the Vin d’honneur via email last December 28. On January 4, Malacañang called the Office to retract the invitation, stating that the guest list was limited,” Robredo’s spokesperson said in a brief statement.
An OVP source earlier told the Inquirer that Robredo was not invited. The Vin d’honneur is a traditional twice a year event hosted by the President for foreign diplomats.
When asked if Robredo was invited by Malacañang, the source replied: “Isn’t the Vice President traditionally invited [to the event]?”
READ: No Palace invite for Robredo for Vin d’honneur — OVP source
Robredo spent her Wednesday morning working from her office at the Executive House in Quezon City. Her only public engagement today is as guest speaker at the 35th Chinese General Hospital Medical Center Residents’ Graduation in San Juan City at 7 p.m.
The shaky relationship between the President and the Vice President finally fell apart after Mr. Duterte accused Robredo of joining anti-administration rallies and barred her from attending Cabinet meetings.
Robredo said she never attended any rally that called for the ouster of Mr. Duterte despite being vocal against his draconian measures to solve the drug menace in the country and his acquiesce to the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
This was likely the first time that a Vice President was disinvited to an official Palace event.
Malacañang continued to invite then Vice President Jejomar Binay to Palace events even after his falling out with then President Benigno Aquino III. Binay attended some of these events, including the state dinner for Emperor Akihito in January last year where Mr. Aquino introduced Binay to the Japanese monarch. CBB