Where was the Vice President of the Republic of the
Philippines?
It was evident in the Association of the South East Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) 2017 , we didn’t see much of Vice-President
Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo. In the traditional sense of things normally she
was supposed to be also visible in all of its activities, but ato the surprise of
many, the Vice President was not one of those government officials that welcomed the world leaders during their
arrivals in the country.
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| V-Pres. Leni Robredo as a keynote speaker at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit at Solaire Resort in Pasay City( photo credit to Philstar) |
Oppositions has made a reason that its all about politics as
to why the Vice President was left out.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained why Vice
President Leni Robredo was not among the government officials who welcomed the
world leaders.
Roque denied that Robredo was given limited participation in
the ASEAN Summit and explained that only Cabinet members were designated to
join the welcoming body at the airports. Robredo last year resigned as part of
the Duterte cabinet.
“Was it really limited? My understanding is, it's the alter
ego of the president who must meet members apparently the protocol when a
president can’t be there, there must be a representative of the president who
is his alter ego,” Roque in a recorded ambush interview.
The presidential spokesman explained that the
administration’s Cabinet served as Duterte's “alter egos.”
“That is why all who welcomed the leaders were all the
members of the Cabinet,” Roque said in Filipino.
“Nothing political," he added.
In the previous administrations, the vice president are
traditionally delegated to welcome state guests in red carpet welcoming
ceremony at the airport.
In 2015, former Vice President Jejomar Binay said that one
of the functions of a vice president is to lead the welcoming rites.
“You know, the protocol really there is that the Vice
President will greet the heads of state. That is one of my functions,” Binay
was quoted prior to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit held in Manila
in 2015.
The Vice President was not also invited in during the gala
dinner celebrating the ASEAN’s 50th anniversary.
Despite this, Robredo attended the opening ceremony of the
ASEAN summit at the Philippine International Convention Center last Monday. She
also served as the keynote speaker at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit
at Solaire Resort in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Report from Philstar
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