PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, November 19, said it would be “dangerous” to give to Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo all the classified information on his administration’s war on illegal drugs.
In a media interview late Tuesday night, the President admitted that he cannot trust Robredo because she is not an ally.
He made the remarks just a couple of weeks after he appointed Robredo as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Drugs (Icad) until June 30, 2022.
“Ang problema kasi dito, ganito (The problem is) I cannot trust her not only because she is with the opposition. I do not trust her because I do not know her,” Duterte said.
“Delikado ‘yan kasi doon siya sa kabila. Nandito ako (It’s dangerous because she’s from the other party. Meantime, I belong to different group),” he added.
Duterte initially announced that Robredo would hold a Cabinet rank, but withdrew his offer after Robredo announced her plan to meet with international communities to discuss the anti-narcotics drive.
The President said giving Robredo a Cabinet rank would give her access to sensitive information about the drug war.
“If I make her a Cabinet member, then she would demand... So to my mind, in my own estimation, it’s not good for the country,” he 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,” Duterte added.
Duterte dared Robredo to lead the campaign against narcotics after she was quoted in a report as saying that the campaign has been ineffective.
Despite the advice of her allies, Robredo accepted the challenge. She has since met with an inter-agency delegation from the United States and asked for a copy of the government's list of suspected drug personalities. (NASE/SunStar Philippines)