Even though they have parted ways in the Cabinet, President Duterte has guaranteed Vice President Leni Robredo that there is no administration plot to steal the vice presidency from her.
“I will assure Leni and the rest of the Bicol region that you will have her until the very end of her term,” the President said in a media interview after the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bicol International Airport in Albay yesterday.
“And there is no such thing as removing a Vice President. What’s the crime?” added Duterte.
The President also dispelled speculations anew that he was eyeing the return of Martial Law, saying it was his critics who kept raising such specter. Some lawmakers earlier claimed that Robredo was eased out of the Cabinet to protect Duterte’s alleged secret plans, including the imposition of Martial Law.
“Kayo lang nagsasabi ng Martial Law dyan. There is no need for me to declare Martial Law,” Duterte insisted.
The President, however, admitted that he would be harsh against those breaking the country’s laws. “You mess up with my country, I’ll order your arrest and I will think of the crime you have committed and if you have no time, stay there for a while,” he said.
Early this week, Robredo decided to quit as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council after being barred from attending Cabinet meetings.
The Vice President also raised suspicions about a plot to steal the vice presidency, saying the Cabinet exclusion was the “last straw.”
Robredo defeated former Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., a known ally of the President, in the last vice presidential elections. Marcos has filed an electoral protest insisting he was the real winner of the VP polls.
(Genalyn D. Kabiling)