Duterte, Robredo ‘civil’ in Ledac meeting, says Abella

President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo meet for the first time in Malacañang. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo were “civil” during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting on Monday, a Palace official said.

“It was a very civil meeting,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.

The Ledac meeting was the first time Duterte and Robredo met after the vice president was barred from attending Cabinet meetings.

READ: Robredo faces Duterte at LEDAC meeting, pushes for bills

Abella said there was no awkward moment between the two leaders, adding that Robredo was warmly received during the meeting.

“It was warm. I mean, warm in the sense that there was an exchange,” he said.

Abella said that the vice president engaged in the discussion during the Ledac meeting and shared her inputs.

“Everybody is mature about these things,” Abella replied.

The Palace official said Duterte again joked about Robredo’s knees.

“It was a humorous reference. I think the vice president understood the context this time,” he said.

Duterte had earlier joked about the vice president’s knees during a speech in Tacloban City. Robredo had called it “inappropriate.”

But during the Ledac meeting, the vice president was smiling at Duterte’s banter, Abella said. JE