{"id":236220,"date":"2019-10-31T22:50:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T02:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=236220"},"modified":"2019-10-31T22:51:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T02:51:09","slug":"prrd-offers-robredo-cabinet-position-vs-drug-menace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/10\/31\/prrd-offers-robredo-cabinet-position-vs-drug-menace\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD offers Robredo Cabinet position vs. drug menace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Robredo\"<\/a>
In a chance interview in Davao City, Duterte said he would give Robredo a Cabinet position so that \u201cshe will have the authority\u201d to take over all drug-related agencies and bureaus. (File photo<\/a>: VP Leni Robredo\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte is now offering Vice President Leni Robredo a Cabinet position to take over the administration\u2019s aggressive campaign against illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

In a chance interview in Davao City, Duterte said he would give Robredo a Cabinet position so that \u201cshe will have the authority\u201d to take over all drug-related agencies and bureaus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I would take her in as the drug czar, I will have to first make her a Cabinet member. Then, I will give her the marching orders and the specific functions. All in connection with drugs,\u00a0kanya<\/em>\u00a0(it\u2019s hers),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

Duterte, however, said he will not need to put his offer in formal writing. All Robredo needs to do is rejoin his Cabinet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi na kailangan<\/em>\u00a0(It\u2019s not necessary). I will swear her — I will swear as a Cabinet member. First,\u00a0balik siya<\/em>\u00a0(she should return) so that she will have the authority,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cAng<\/em>\u00a0Cabinet members are alter ego\u00a0lang ng Presidente \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(of the President). So\u00a0kung may gawain ang<\/em>\u00a0Cabinet member (if the Cabinet takes action), it is as if it is mine. So to make it legal, just a little fiat,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The President said he would no longer need to seek permission from Congress to get Robredo back in his Cabinet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will just make her the — a Cabinet member.\u00a0Tapos<\/em>\u00a0(Then), all drug cases and all things, matters in connection with drugs\u00a0iyo na \u2018yan hanggang katapusan ng<\/em>\u00a0term\u00a0ko<\/em>\u00a0(will be yours until the end of my term),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson said the President decided to give Robredo a Cabinet position to dispel all doubts on his sincerity after he initially asked her to be drug czar for only six months.<\/p>\n

If the Vice President accepts the offer, she will rejoin Duterte\u2019s Cabinet this time to be in charge of all anti-illegal drug-related agencies.<\/p>\n

Robredo was Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) until she stepped down on Dec. 5, 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President renews his offer to the Vice President to become the anti-illegal drugs czar, with all offices, bureaus, agencies or government instrumentalities involved in the enforcement of the law on prohibited drugs placed under her command and supervision with a cabinet secretary portfolio, to ensure her effectiveness in combatting the drug menace,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo said the President made this decision after hearing commentaries made by the opposition calling his offer \u201ca trap\u201d since six months is a limited time to solve the country\u2019s drug problem.<\/p>\n

He denied that Duterte was only offering Robredo the position to see her fail because she would lack support from anti-drug bureaus and agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want VP Leni to succeed, her success being ultimately a triumph of the Filipino people against the dreaded and destructive evil that is destroying the basic fabric of our society,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Panelo insisted that Duterte\u2019s offer to Robredo was a \u201ckind gesture\u201d that would allow her to \u201cshow her mettle\u201d and prove that she could do more rather than just criticize the administration.<\/p>\n

Panelo said that Robredo accepting the role as drug czar was a \u201cgolden opportunity\u201d that could even propel her into the presidency.<\/p>\n

Robredo, who questioned Duterte\u2019s offer, stressed that giving her law enforcement powers is an admission that the drug war is indeed a failure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte is now offering Vice President Leni Robredo a Cabinet position to take over the administration\u2019s aggressive …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":236221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236220"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236223,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236220\/revisions\/236223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}