Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Thursday said the retracted Vin d’honneur invitation of President Rodrigo Duterte was not a big deal but noted that the Palace should have respected her office.
“Ang sa akin naman ayaw ko na kasing palakihin. Para sa akin, hindi naman big deal kung iimbitahan ako o hindi. Nakakawalang gana na lang doon iyong manner kung paano ginagawa ang mga bagay,” she said in a chance interview during a visit in Tondo.
(I do not want to make a big deal of it. For me, it is not a big deal if they will invite me or not. It was just that their manner was disheartening.)
READ: VP Robredo disinvited to ‘vin d’honneur’
The Vin d’honneur is a traditional twice-a-year event hosted by the President for foreign diplomats.
In a statement, Robredo’s spokesperson, Georgina Hernandez, on Wednesday said that their office received an invitation to the event via e-mail last December 28 but Malacañang retracted the invitation on January 4 because “the guest list was limited.”
“Kasi kung galit sa akin, galit sa akin. Pero sana bigyan naman ng kaunting respeto ang opisina,” Robredo added.
(If they are mad at me, so be it. But they should have given my office a little respect.)
The shaky relationship between the President and the Vice President was finally shattered after Duterte accused Robredo of joining anti-administration rallies and barred her from attending Cabinet meetings.
Robredo denied the allegation, saying she did not take part in any rally pushing for the ouster of the President.
“Tingin ko makakabuti naman sa lahat na ang pangulo at pangalawang pangulo ay nagkakasundo,” she said. RAM/rga