By GENALYN D. KABILING
Fired anti-drug czar Vice President Leni Robredo “had it coming” after showing disrespect and grandstanding, among others, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Robredo blew her chance to lead the anti-drug campaign after committing missteps since she was designated by President Duterte nearly a month ago.
“The Vice President had it coming. She has been making missteps,” Panelo said. “Apart from that, the president of the Liberal Party was daring the President to fire her, and VP Leni herself was taunting and daring the President to fire her and she had this coming. It’s not surprising. She was given the opportunity to assist in the program but she blew it,” he added.
Duterte on Sunday sacked Robredo as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs after only less than a month in office.
The Palace claimed that Robredo “wasted the opportunity” to make the anti-drug campaign better, adding that she failed to present any new strategy to combat the menace. Among the missteps supposedly committed by Robredo were daring the President to fire her, seeking the scope of powers without meeting Duterte, consulting with foreigners, and seeking access to confidential documents.
Panelo argued that Robredo taunting the President to fire her was a sign of disrespect.
“When the Liberal Party president is telling this President to fire his colleague and the appointee herself daring and taunting the President to fire her. If you were in the position of the President what would you do?” he said. “You cannot do that, that’s very rude of you and a disrespect to the President, the one appointing you, to dare him to fire you,” he added.
He said Robredo kept issuing press statements “and rudely at that” instead of seeking an audience with the President shortly after she was appointed.
“The President said last night to me, ‘She was just grandstanding,'” he said. “She could have just come to Malacañang. You know, everybody goes to Malacañang, persons of no authority, ordinary people, we entertain them. She is the Vice President, she’s certainly is welcome,” he added.
He said if Robredo wanted to know the scope of her powers, she could have read the executive issuance that created the anti-drug committee. Under Executive Order No. 15 signed by Duterte in 2017, the ICAD is tasked to ensure the integrated and synchronized implementation of the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Panelo said instead of going to the communities affected by the drug problem, Robredo also held meetings with United Nations and the United States Embassy officials who were supposedly out-of-touch from the reality on the ground.
“She should have presented a program. Because according to her, the program against the illegal drugs was a failure. Initially, she said a failure and then she said it’s ineffective. So when you say that, that means you have many ideas in your mind. You should have laid that on the table with the President; she never did,” he said.
“She had to wait for the President giving some remarks against her missteps before she did that. She was busy talking with a lot of people – UN officials, US officials, opposition colleagues. She keeps on listening to the advice of these people who I think would want her to fail just like the one when we were persuading her not to accept the position,” he added.
Panelo said there was no need for the President to issue a formal statement about Robredo’s removal. “When the appointing power appoints, he can at the pleasure of this appointing power to dismiss.”
Robredo’s designation as ICAD co-chair was signed by the President via a memorandum last Oct. 31. Robredo accepted the post on Nov. 6.
