{"id":237866,"date":"2019-11-19T21:25:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T02:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=237866"},"modified":"2019-11-19T21:25:32","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T02:25:32","slug":"prrd-not-inclined-to-give-leni-cabinet-rank-after-her-missteps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/11\/19\/prrd-not-inclined-to-give-leni-cabinet-rank-after-her-missteps\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD not inclined to give Leni Cabinet rank after her \u2018missteps\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the 22nd ASEAN-Japan Summit at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand on November 4, 2019. (PCOO Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte has reconsidered his decision to appoint Vice President Leni Robredo to the Cabinet after she made \u201cmissteps\u201d in her role as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), Malaca\u00f1ang said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo enumerated Robredo’s three missteps that made Duterte change his mind about giving her a Cabinet post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese missteps not only derailed PRRD’s well-meaning intent for the Vice President to be part of the Administration but registered red signs that could not be ignored,\u201d Panelo said in a statement.<\/p>\n

First, Panelo said Robredo\u2019s decision to meet with and seek the advice of foreign institutions and personalities who have \u201cprejudged\u201d the campaign against illegal drugs did not sit well with Duterte.<\/p>\n

During her first week as anti-drug czar, Robredo met with representatives from the US Embassy and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of her efforts to improve the Duterte administration\u2019s crackdown on illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

Robredo also met with members of the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Panelo said Duterte also changed his mind because of Robredo\u2019s insistence on getting access to classified information that could pose risks to national security.<\/p>\n

He said her having access to classified information could \u201cimperil the welfare of the Filipino people and the security of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHer request for unrestricted data to help her fulfill her role is an admission that the earlier criticisms of the political opposition to which she belongs against the anti-drug operations have no factual basis,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Although initially hesitant, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) have expressed willingness to share classified information with Robredo but only during a closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n

Finally, Panelo said Duterte was also disinclined because of Robredo\u2019s \u201ctendency to be generous with acquired information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a member of the Cabinet gives Ms. Robredo unlimited access to sensitive State matters which if transmitted by her whether purposely or otherwise could result to adverse consequences, especially since the VP has the tendency to be generous with acquired information and knowledge to others whose predilection may not be in the best interest of the country,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u2018With reservations\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over a phone interview with reporters, Panelo said Duterte\u2019s insistence that Robredo should not have access to classified information did not mean that he did not trust her, but had \u201creservations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince she has talked with certain institutions and people that are supposed to be enemies of the state, to the mind of the President, that\u2019s a dangerous sign.\u00a0Ibig sabihin<\/em>\u00a0(It means), you may not be doing it purposely but\u00a0delikado<\/em>\u00a0(it\u2019s dangerous),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny institution that has already prejudged the war on drugs initiated by the President would be against the government,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Asked if Duterte considered his decision to appoint Robredo as anti-drug czar a mistake, Panelo said: \u201cIt was not a mistake. Anybody who wants to help the government is welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is precisely why that post was offered to her because she had many suggestions, ideas on her mind,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

He said Duterte\u2019s decision to appoint Robredo is not a matter of his trust in her but his desire to listen to her suggestions to solve the country\u2019s drug problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cKahit na wala akong tiwala sayo sa mga<\/em>\u00a0classified secrets,\u00a0kung marami kang<\/em>\u00a0ideas how to solve the drug problem\u00a0papakinggan kita<\/em>\u00a0(Even if I don\u2019t trust you when it comes to classified secrets, if you have many ideas to solve the drug problem, I\u2019ll listen to you),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has nothing to do with trust; it has something to do with the effectiveness of your idea. If you can help me, I will get you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

New suggestions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if Robredo would not be appointed to a Cabinet post, Panelo said Robredo could still provide various suggestions to enhance the drug war.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean\u00a0di ka miyembro ng Gabinete, wala kang magagawa. Marami kang magagawa<\/em>\u00a0(that if you\u2019re not a member of the Cabinet, you can\u2019t do anything. There is plenty to do),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she has a new program, how to curb, add to the present program,\u00a0gawin niya<\/em>\u00a0then\u00a0i<\/em>-present\u00a0niya sa<\/em>\u00a0(she should do it then present it to the) Cabinet,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Despite being an anti-drug czar for two weeks, Panelo lamented that Robredo has yet to present a concrete plan on how to curb the illegal drug trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you began criticizing a plan or a scheme that is not working,\u00a0matagal mo nang di pinag-isipan \u2018yun<\/em>\u00a0(you should have already thought of an alternative solution),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo also said not having access to classified information should not limit her ability to be an effective anti-drug czar because the extent of the drug problem is obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cTayo alam natin ang<\/em>\u00a0magnitude\u00a0ng problema<\/em>\u00a0(We know the extent of the problem). The problem confronts us in the eye. What are these? We know for a fact\u00a0na maraming barangay na<\/em>\u00a0infiltrate\u00a0na yan, maramin<\/em>g police\u00a0na<\/em>\u00a0involved (We know the magnitude of the problem (that many villages have been infiltrated, many police are involved),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo, meanwhile, said a meeting between Duterte and Robredo is not necessary for the latter to present her ideas to the public.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte has reconsidered his decision to appoint Vice President Leni Robredo to the Cabinet after she made …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":236579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237866","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\/237866","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\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237866"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237868,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237866\/revisions\/237868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}