Robredo skips first Cabinet meet as drug czar
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Wed, 06 Nov 2019 12:27:16 +0000
DESPITE Malacañang’s verbal invitation for Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, the opposition leader missed her first Cabinet meeting as the government’s new drug czar.
A photo shared by a Palace source showed President Rodrigo Duterte presiding over the 43rd Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday night.
The Cabinet meeting came a few hours after Robredo, in a televised speech, accepted her appointment as co-chairman of the inter-agency committee on anti-illegal drugs despite warnings from some allies.
In a press conference, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Robredo was welcome to join the Cabinet meeting.
“She’s welcome. We have a Cabinet meeting today she can even join us,” Panelo said, adding that there was no need for a formal invitation for Robredo to attend since she has accepted the government post.
“It goes without saying that you’re a member of the Cabinet then you are free to come to join us. But if she would want an invitation, well we can always give it to her,” he added.
Robredo’s acceptance of the post makes her a part of the Duterte Cabinet again, two years since she resigned as Housing secretary following Malacañang’s move to bar her from attending the meetings.
Last week, Duterte said he would surrender his law enforcement power to Robredo, particularly to lead the administration’s war on drugs for six months.
This came after the Vice President said the war on drugs was “obviously not working.”
Duterte first appointed Robredo as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council in 2016. CATHERINE S. VALENTE