President Duterte declared that he was not afraid of Vice President Leni Robredo per se, alleging she failed to do her job when she was placed in charge of the administration’s war on drugs.
The President, however, admitted that he actually dreaded that had Robredo stayed in the post for long, she would just “talk and talk” instead of solving the drug problem.
“‘What are you afraid of me?’ Ah, me afraid of you? No. I’m afraid that if you stay long there, you will just…,” he said during the Bonifacio Day commemoration in Caloocan City last Saturday, before trailing off.
“You know, that office does not require you to fight criminals. Pero kung gusto niya, okay man. Siya ang mag-lead para tapos na ang problema ko. Siya lang ang mag-lead at magbigay ng direction but she was not allowed to just talk and talk and talk,” he said.
The President expressed his dismay anew with Robredo for consulting with foreigners critical of his drug war instead of local authorities involved in drug enforcement and rehabilitation efforts when she co-chaired the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs.
“Ito naman si Leni. She made an a****** of herself. The day I appointed her, what did she do? She went to the embassy of the United Nation. Then she told us that she wanted to talk to the UN (United Nations), EU (European Union),” he said. “She was inviting personalities. She was not solving any problem at all mind you,” he added.
The President sacked Robredo less than three weeks after being appointed as ICAD co-chairperson. She was criticized by the President for her alleged missteps such as taunting him to fire her, consulting foreigners about the anti-drug efforts, and seeking access to classified documents.
Meanwhile, Robredo said yesterday she will make good on her word and release a report on her findings about the drug war and recommendations to the public during her short stint as ICAD co-chair.
Robredo said she decided to defer the release of the report last week due to the Southeast Asian Games.
“We were set on Wednesday or Thursday last week because it was my third week on the job. It was my decision not to release it. I said let the SEA Games finish first, even the opening only in deference to our athletes,” she said.
She elaborated her findings was about her supposed discoveries on the operations involving the anti-drug campaign, which was meant to improve its implementation.
Robredo said the President was not able to read the two reports that she had submitted so she would make it public.
She was about to submit a third report to Duterte last week before she had been fired. (Genalyn Kabiling and Raymund F. Antonio)