Vice President Leni Robredo By Presidential Communications Operations Office - http://pcoo.gov.ph/photos/, Public Domain, https://en.wik...
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| Vice President Leni Robredo By Presidential Communications Operations Office - http://pcoo.gov.ph/photos/, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51023819 |
LP president Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan reminded that the President himself last week declared that Robredo had nothing to do with what he called “destabilization efforts” against him.
“Makinig sana ang mga ka-alyado ni Pangulo sa kanya at huwag nang maghasik ng kasinungalingan dahil hinahawahan nila ang buong bayan imbes na pinagbubuklod tayo (The President’s allies should take this cue from him and refrain from sowing lies, as this is infecting the nation instead of uniting us),” the Liberal Party president said.
Pangilinan observed that this seems to be part of an orchestrated effort to spread lies: from the so-called NagaLeaks to accusations of destabilization.
“Ganito rin ang ginawa nila kay Leila: sinisiraan ng mga paratang na walang basehan sa katotohanan (It is the same thing they did to Leila: demonize and vilify with baseless accusations),” he said, referring to the President’s critic Sen. Leila De Lima, who is now detained over alleged drug charges.
On the other hand, LP secretary-general Rep. Kit Belmonte said Vice President Robredo is not and will not be part of any destabilization moves.
“Hinalal siya para maglingkod sa mga Pilipino, at gagampanan niya ang kanyang sinumpaang tungkulin hanggang sa huling araw ng kanyang anim na taong termino (She was elected to serve the Filipinos and this she would do until the last day of her six-year term),” Belmonte added.
Key allies of the President have been attacking Robredo following her video message to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, in which she talked about the victims of the administration’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.
On Friday, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez threatened Robredo of impeachment for betrayal of public trust for her pronouncements before the international body.
Belmonte pointed out that the video message narrated true stories of people who have approached the Vice President to seek help regarding their experience on the government’s war on drugs.
“They said rogue policemen were involved in the killings. Lumapit sila kay VP dahil wala na silang malapitan (They approached VP because they have nowhere else to go),” he said.
The Speaker also accused Robredo of being behind the first impeachment complaint filed against President Duterte on Thursday by Magdalo partylist Rep. Gary Alejano.
Alejano himself declared that the impeachment complaint was his initiative, and not anybody else’s.
Also on Friday, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte’s running-mate in the last elections, tagged LP and its allies as behind a “coordinated” effort to discredit the administration.
Cayetano questioned how an impeachment complaint was filed against the President soon after a video criticizing the government’s war on drugs was played during a United Nations meeting.
Drug Reform Coordination Network, the international NGO that organized the UN event where Vice President Robredo’s video was shown, explained that the forum was set months earlier, and that she did not have anything to do with the schedule.
“As the organizer of the event at the UN, I can attest that the date of our forum was scheduled months ago by UN staff, and the vice president’s office did not make any requests of us as to timing or any other matters. We released it a few days before the session as a media strategy to draw attention to Pres. Duterte’s atrocities,” said David Borden, executive director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network.
Pangilinan said Duterte’s allies are spooking themselves for no apparent reason, creating political uncertainty.
“They should stop destabilizing the administration and focus instead on the gargantuan tasks of delivering on its campaign promises such as end ‘endo’ and create jobs, finish the traffic nightmare and ease commuters’ lives, and stop corruption and move the country forward, among others,” the LP president added.
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