Robredo on Sunday said she was giving up her Cabinet post, citing a Malacañang official’s instruction barring her from attending its meetings.
Last night, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco Jr. told the Inquirer that President Duterte had instructed him to inform Robredo and Patricia Licuanan, chair of the Commission on Higher Education, to stop attending Cabinet meetings due to “irreconcilable differences.”
Licuanan is an appointee of then President Benigno Aquino III.
Evasco did not elaborate on what the irreconcilable differences were.
Robredo, a member of the Liberal Party, has assailed the extrajudicial killings in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and opposed the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani. President Duterte supported the Marcos burial at Libingan.
Non-Related Videos (December 4, 2016)
The Vice President said the instruction, relayed by the President’s special assistant, Christopher “Bong” Go, was for her to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings starting this Monday, Dec. 5.”
‘Last straw’
“This is the last straw, because it makes it impossible for me to perform my duties. Hence, I am tendering my resignation from the Cabinet on Monday,” Robredo said in a statement issued on Sunday night.In an interview over radio station dzMM last night, Evasco said that while Robredo was asked to desist from attending the Cabinet meetings, there was “no instruction for her to be terminated from her position.”
When told that Robredo was tendering her resignation, Evasco said: “If that’s the case, we will be constrained to look for somebody who will handle HUDCC.”
Robredo became a member of the Cabinet in her capacity as chair of HUDCC, the highest policymaking body for housing.
As chair of HUDCC, the agency has had “solid accomplishments” over the past five months, she said.
This was despite the P19-billion budget cut for all key shelter agencies and inaction on appointment recommendations, she added.
The Vice President said resigning from the Cabinet would still allow her to “continue to support the positive initiatives of this administration and oppose those that are inimical to the people’s interest.”
Leni Robredo Resigns From Cabinet
4/
5
Oleh
MomEnDoter
We love engagement but please... be responsible when leaving a comment. We have the right to remove if your comment wasn't appropriate and contains spam content.