VICE President Leni Robredo knew after the elections that she would be left without a Cabinet position. The second-in-command but a lame duck without an executive department.
Until President Rodrigo Duterte gave her a call in early July to offer her the position of Housing secretary. He spoke with Robredo over the phone in a conversation recorded by a government television channel from Duterte’s side. The recording showed Duterte saying that the Malacañang press corps had been asking him if he would appoint her to the Cabinet.
“Puwede ka Housing, ma'am? Can you be the Housing secretary?" Duterte asked. Robredo said yes, joined the Duterte Cabinet as Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair.
Her Cabinet stint, albeit short-lived, could probably be called uneventful. Outnumbered by people who shared political sympathies with Duterte, it was possible Robredo avoided controversy during Cabinet deliberations. And that is to be expected. She came from the opposing camp, had a different political background and is a woman, although that last one should not have mattered.
Five months later, last December 5, Robredo resigned after she was told by text message to stop attending Cabinet meetings. The text message from Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco Jr. to Robredo said Duterte wanted her to "desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting Monday, December 5."
“This is the last straw,” Robredo said, “because it makes it impossible for me to perform my duties.” She said in her resignation statement, “I will continue to support the positive initiatives of this administration and oppose those that are inimical to the people’s interest.”
Robredo said, “From the very beginning, the President and I had major differences in principles and values. Since I assumed office, I have been consistent in my opposition to issues such as the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, extra-judicial killings, reinstating death penalty, lowering the age of criminal liability, and sexual attacks against women…I had hoped that this shared commitment to the poor and marginalized would transcend the differences between us.”
Robredo’s stay in the Cabinet could be described as largely uneventful, except perhaps for that controversial statement of Duterte about her knees. Duterte joked during an event in Tacloban City early last month that he found Robredo's skirts during Cabinet meetings as "shorter than usual."
"Si Ma'm Leni, medyo shorter than usual yung damit. Siguro nahalata ng protocol officer, sige ako sa likod. Si Sonny Dominguez naman, 'dito tayo,' sabi ko. 'Tignan mo 'yung tuhod ni...," Duterte motions to Robredo. (“Her skirt is shorter than usual. I guess the protocol officer noticed what I was doing at the back. I told Sonny Dominguez, ‘Let's stay here. Look at the knees of...’.”)
In the May elections, Robredo turned out as a clear winner in the vice-presidential race, followed by Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. She won in a total of 41 provinces while Marcos took 33. Robredo’s victory in Cebu was by a far margin over Marcos and the other candidates.
Robredo doesn’t have to be a lame duck as a second-in-command. She has a mandate from the people and that’s a good starting point.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)