Robredo ICAD firing proves appointment was bluff and bluster –senators

Lawmakers on Sunday evening denounced the removal of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), just two weeks after she was appointed to the position.

"The appointment and the eventual firing of VP Leni as anti-drug co-chair prove what we have been saying all along: Both the war on drugs and the appointment of the vice president as ICAD co-chair are bluff and bluster," Liberal Party President Senator Francis Pangilinan said in a statement

"Their scheme to make VP Leni look weak back-fired. Just two weeks after her appointment, she has shown courage and competence in facing the problem at hand and redirected the anti-drug war track from a criminal justice issue to a public health problem," added Pangilinan.

His statement came after Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed that Duterte fired Robredo as co-chair of the ICAD.

"Marami ang natuwa at humanga sa pagtanggap ni VP Leni ng nasabing alok. Sumabog sa mukha nila ang kanilang tangkang pahiyain si VP Leni," Pangilinan emphasized.

Robredo accepted the position on November 6, a day after Duterte designated her co-chair of the anti-drugs body along with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino.

"Tinatanong nila ako kung handa ako. Ang tanong, handa ba sila sa akin?" Robredo had then said.

Pangilinan's response was mirrored by Senator Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, who also pointed out that the timing was significant.

"Not only were they not ready for the Vice President, they are terrified of her," Hontiveros said in her statement.

"It is laughable that it is Vice President Robredo who got fired first over the public officials responsible for the anomalies and incompetence which now hound our hosting of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) left and right," added Hontiveros.

Local organizers encountered issues with the transportation and accommodations of SEA Games athletes from Timor-Leste, Cambodia, and Myanmar who spent hours waiting at the airport or at their designated hotels.

"(T)he timing of this decision is not surprising to me. We have seen this before. I won't be surprised if this is yet another attempt to draw public attention away from the widespread anomalies and the incompetent and embarrassing handling of the SEA Games," added Hontiveros.

A third lawmaker, Senator Panfilo Lacson, said that the firing was not surprising nor unexpected.

"Not shocking, not surprising, not unexpected. Boring, actually. The more exciting question is, between PRRD and VP Robredo, guess who’s laughing now?" he said in a tweet. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM/BM, GMA News