{"id":237918,"date":"2019-11-19T23:20:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T04:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=237918"},"modified":"2019-11-20T02:01:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T07:01:13","slug":"duterte-admits-he-cannot-fully-trust-robredo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/11\/19\/duterte-admits-he-cannot-fully-trust-robredo\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte admits he cannot fully trust Robredo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: Vice President Leni Robredo pays courtesy call on President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace, afternoon of July 4, 2016. (KING RODRIGUEZ\/ Malaca\u00f1ang Photo Bureau)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Tuesday that he cannot fully trust Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo because he does not know her well since she belongs to the opposition.<\/p>\n

The President made the statement, as he justified his decision to drop his initial plan to appoint Robredo as a Cabinet member, serving as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Drugs (ICAD).<\/p>\n

\u201cAng problema kasi dito, ganito<\/em>\u00a0(The problem here is this), I cannot trust her not only because she is with the opposition. I do not trust her because I do not know her,\u201d Duterte said in a press conference with Palace reporters at Malaca\u00f1an Palace late Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Robredo will lead ICAD, along with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino, until June 30, 2022, according to the October 31 memorandum signed by Duterte.<\/p>\n

The memorandum also directs the PDEA, the Philippine National Police, the Dangerous Drugs Board, and all other law enforcement agencies to extend their “full assistance and cooperation” to Robredo to ensure the success of the administration’s fight against illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

Duterte was prompted to name Robredo as ICAD co-chair after the latter claimed that the government\u2019s anti-drug campaign is \u201cobviously not working\u201d.<\/p>\n

The President earlier announced that Robredo will hold a Cabinet rank, but later on, retracted his pronouncement.<\/p>\n

Cannot appoint Robredo as Cabinet member<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte appointed Robredo as ICAD co-chair with reservations because of the “red signs that cannot be ignored by the President.”<\/p>\n

Panelo added that the Chief Executive has no trust in Robredo when it comes to keeping confidential records about the government’s anti-narcotics campaign.<\/p>\n

Duterte said he had decided not to appoint Robredo as a member of his Cabinet because it would merely \u201cjeopardize the whole situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDelikado \u2018yan kasi doon siya sa kabila. Nandito ako. Nagtatapunan kami ng basura<\/em>\u00a0(It\u2019s dangerous because she\u2019s from the opposition. I\u2019m from the other party. We\u2019re throwing garbage at each other),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I make her a Cabinet member, then she would demand, \u2018Cabinet member\u00a0na ako<\/em>\u00a0(I\u2019m a Cabinet member), you gave me this job, then I will have to dwell on the records and everything that I wanted to know or I want to know.\u2019 So, to my mind, in my own estimation, it\u2019s not good for the country,\u201d Duterte added.<\/p>\n

Robredo could not be Duterte\u2019s \u2018alter ego\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President said he could not appoint Robredo because she would never be his \u201calter ego,\u201d considering that they are not allies.<\/p>\n

He also feared that Robredo might use the classified information about the drug war against him and his administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cElection is a noble thing. But politics is always dirty especially if you are [from] the other side.\u00a0Huwag mo na lang akong bolahin<\/em>\u00a0(Do not fool me),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung ganoon, sabi ko<\/em>\u00a0(So I said), I cannot appoint her as a Cabinet member. If that is the way her mouth behaves, there can never be a position for her.\u00a0Kasi kung<\/em>\u00a0Cabinet member\u00a0sana siya<\/em>\u00a0(If she is a Cabinet member), you know upon the authority because she would be an alter ego of me,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

No need for Robredo to know \u2018classified\u2019 matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

While he has no plan of firing Robredo, Duterte said the ICAD co-chair need not know the \u201cclassified\u201d matters with regard to the government\u2019s anti-narcotics crackdown.<\/p>\n

Duterte also noted that Robredo has limited powers as anti-drug czar.<\/p>\n

“Need to know\u00a0lang siya<\/em>\u00a0(She just needs to know) what is the\u2026 Need to know to complete her\u2026 If she asks something, then you give her. You give her half of it. The other half, if it\u2019s classified information, there is no need for her to know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as ICAD [co-chair], you can direct. Sabi ko (I said) you can give the directions, you can give the guidance. But you do not have to go there and waggle inside the law enforcement process,\u201d the President added.<\/p>\n

His statement came, as he revealed that he was opposed to Robredo\u2019s initiatives to seek advice from foreign entities that repeatedly criticize his war on illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

Just days after being appointed as ICAD co-chairperson, Robredo revealed that he would meet the officials of the United States and the United Nations to discuss ways to improve the fight against rampant narcotics trade in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

The President said he could not accept that Robredo was merely \u201cgrandstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNgayon siya kung nandiyan, hindi ko man talaga siya kilala<\/em>\u00a0(Now, if she\u2019s there, I don\u2019t really know her. And the way she behaved right after I appointed her does not inspire [me]. It\u2019s not inspiring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was grandstanding. It was like a carnival after. She was talking right and left\u00a0dito ganun<\/em>\u00a0(here and there).\u00a0Presidente ka, mag-ganun ka<\/em>\u00a0(If you\u2019re a president, you\u2019ll allow that)? You will just place the Republic of the Philippines in jeopardy.\u00a0Alam mo bakit<\/em>\u00a0(Do you know why)? It\u2019s your penchant. Knee-jerk\u00a0ka eh<\/em>\u00a0(You have a knee-jerk reaction),\u201d Duterte added.<\/p>\n

Critics not giving Duterte a chance to \u2018be heard\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President lamented that his critics do not give him the opportunity to explain his side.<\/p>\n

He added that even Robredo has so \u201cmany qualms and complaints\u201d about the drug war, specifically about the recorded deaths of drug personalities in the country.<\/p>\n

He maintained that his administration has \u201cno hand\u201d in drug-related killings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other deaths, you cannot attribute it to the drug situation,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

To prove his administration\u2019s innocence, the President said he is willing to allow Robredo to invite other foreign individuals who are critical of his drug war, including former Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia deputy director Phelim Kine.<\/p>\n

Duterte, however, cautioned that he would \u201cslap\u201d Kine in front of Robredo, should the former HRW official visits the Philippines to probe the war on illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease invite him and accord. And I\u2019ll order a VIP treatment.\u00a0Dalhin mo sa opisina, pupuntahan ko kayo. Sampalin ko \u2018yan sa harap mo. Bastos \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(Bring him to the office and I\u2019ll go there. I\u2019ll slap him in front of you. He\u2019s rude),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaya ako ang<\/em>\u00a0reaction\u00a0ko, ganoon<\/em>\u00a0(That\u2019s my reaction) because I am not being given the opportunity to be heard. Of course, I tried answering. Nobody is listening,\u201d Duterte added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Tuesday that he cannot fully trust Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo because he …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":157714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,54365,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-instagram","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237918","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=237918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237921,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237918\/revisions\/237921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}