Friday 24 March 2017

Vice President Leni Robredo: “When we verbalize dissent, it doesn’t mean we want to replace the President”





Breaking her silence since the showing of video message at a United Nations-affliated side event and on the moves to impeach her, Vice President Leni Robredo said critical message regarding the extrajudicial killings in President Duterte’s drug war should not be construed as a desire for her to take over the presidency.
 
Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Santo Tomas Robredo, the 14 and current Vice President of the Philippines, shown here in one of her cover shoot for a magazine(photo credit to the owner)
“When we verbalize dissent, it doesn’t mean we want to replace the President. We think removing a President by impeachment or whatever means, we won’t accomplish anything anymore,” she told reporters.

“Impeachment whether against the President or me would put a halt to the things Congress should focus on. It is going to be very divisive in our country. It won’t be good in the long run,” she said.

Palit-ulo scheme

“But we never said anything that was not true” 

Was the Vice President's  answer regarding the question of her exposition of the Palit-ulo scheme, in which law enforcers searching for drug suspects would allow an exchange with family members or other people connected to them.

When asked to comment on the Presidents' remark asking his allies in the House of representatives to “let her be”, Robredo said that would be in the best interest of the nation.

“I have always been for working together. Only our dissent is being misinterpreted as destabilization,” she said.

“By working together, it doesn’t mean we agree on everything. But disagreement should not be seen as our desire to replace him,” Robredo said.

“We want to be heard because we feel strongly about certain things, like the killing of ordinary people,” she added.

Robredo also spoke about the bitter infighting between her supporters and Duterte’s. “It wastes a lot of our time, and it encourages a culture of hate among everyone,” she said.

Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo is considered the chairman of the Liberal Party since she occupies the highest elected post among its members, and seen as head of the Opposition as regards the Duterte administration.




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