Robredo wants no part in RevGov

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday said she wanted “no part in any move to amend the Constitution,” after a proadministration group eyed her to lead the calls for a revolutionary government, which was disowned by President Rodrigo Duterte himself earlier this week.

“Huwag na nila akong isali (I don’t want to be a part of that),” Robredo said during her weekly Sunday radio show. “The President and I and all the other officials who are seated now, when we assumed our offices, we took our oath to the Constitution and we swore to protect it.”

“I am merely abiding by my oath of office. So I hope they don’t count me in that effort … No matter what, I will never be a part of anything that is illegal,” she added.

The snub came after President Duterte denied ties with the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NECC) group, which revived calls to amend the Charter to establish a revolutionary government.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that while the organizers of the revolutionary government were free to express their opinion, the focus of the administration “is addressing COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease) and mitigating its socioeconomic impact.”

The defense department and the national police force have also expressed opposition to the creation of a revolutionary government.

In a TV interview, MRRD-NECC spokesperson Francisco Buan said if Duterte refused, then “we have a successional system under our Constitution,” referring to Robredo.

But he said they would do their best to convince Duterte to heed their calls as the group distrusts Robredo, often seen as an opposition leader.

On that note, Robredo joked that she was a “constitutional successor” and not an “unconstitutional or extraconstitutional successor.”

The Vice President has been resolutely adamant against moves to amend the Charter, particularly by way of shifting to a revolutionary government, calling it “nonsense and illegal.”

She asked the government to instead focus on strengthening its coronavirus efforts and heed the suggestions she outlined in her second public address aired last week.