Robredo won’t buy: Palace not serious about drug czar offer
MANILA, Philippines The spokesperson of Vice President Leni Robredo insisted Wednesday that the administration could not be serious about its offer of a drug czar post since the invitation was merely sent through mobile text.
According to lawyer and former lawmaker Barry Gutierrez, Malacañang and presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo are merely messing with Robredo, who’s only been working seriously.
“Kung seryoso talaga sila, hindi idadaan sa text o tawag ni Sec Panelo. Ginugulo lang nila si VP habang gumagawa ng seryosong trabaho kaysa pumatol sa mga ganitong pa-showbiz,” Gutierrez said in a tweet.
(If they are really serious, Secretary Panelo won’t make the offer through text or a phone call. They are just messing with the Vice President who is working seriously instead of reacting to these gimmicks.)
“Sana hindi ito sukat kung gaano sila ka-seryoso sa pag-ayos ng drug war (I hope this is not a gauge of their seriousness with the drug war),” he added.
Kung seryoso talaga sila, hindi idadaan sa text o tawag ni Sec Panelo. Ginugulo lang nila si VP habang gumagawa ng seryosong trabaho kaysa pumatol sa mga ganitong pa-showbiz. Sana hindi ito sukat kung gaano sila kaseryoso sa pag-ayos ng drug war. pic.twitter.com/RsT3rb04hL
— Barry Gutierrez (@barrygutierrez3) October 30, 2019
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would “surrender” his law enforcement power to Robredo to specifically take charge of his drug war for six months.
He made this offer after Robredo criticized anew the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
But Robredo opted not to respond to the President’s call, saying she was unsure if the statement of Duterte was serious or merely a joke.
READ: Robredo refuses to answer Duterte’s dare: I don’t know if he is serious
Panelo, however, claimed the President was serious about his challenge to Robredo. He even said he had sent a text-invitation to Robredo.
Robredo consequently took offense on the administration’s supposed lack of seriousness in tackling the issue. She said the invitation should not have been sent through text out of respect to the Office of the Vice President.
READ: Robredo fumes over alleged ‘text message-invite’ for drug czar post
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