Duterte on firing Robredo from ICAD: 'Ang kinatatakutan ko magkalat siya'

President Rodrigo Duterte said he removed Vice President Leni Robredo from her co-chair post in the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) because he feared she would mess up the administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

"Ang kinatatakutan ko magkalat siya... Kaya ako takot, the more that she stays with the ICAD, the more that she would create issues and the more that the people will be like wondering, 'Ano bang totoo dito?'" Duterte said in a taped interview on Unang Hirit that aired on Monday.

"Kaya ako takot kasi wala talaga siyang alam," he added.

Asked why he appointed Robredo to the post in the first place, the President said he  thought Robredo could help in the drug war considering she has been "harping" on ways to improve it.

"Leni keeps on harping on the so many things na it has not succeeded, eh hindi namin masabi sa kaniya kung bakit eh so sabi ko 'Why don't you just join us?' Actually it's an exasperation thing for me. Sabi ko, eh di ikaw sumali ka na para malaman mo," Duterte said.

"Una, in-appoint ko siya, kinabuksan pumunta siya sa embassy ng US. That's the one thing that I don't like," he added, stressing his stand that the Philippines is a sovereign country.

Robredo held the ICAD post for 19 days after she accepted the offer of the President to be on board the government's anti-illegal drugs campaign.

Malacañang previously said that Robredo was removed "in response to the suggestion of Liberal Party President, Senator Francis Pangilinan, to just fire the Vice President from her post."

"This is also in response to the taunt and dare of VP Robredo for the President to just tell her that he wants her out," Malacañang had said.

In response to her removal from ICAD, Robredo accused the administration of not being transparent regarding its drug war.

"May interes ba tayong nabangga? Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ko? Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ng taumbayan? Kung sa tingin nila matatapos ito dito, hindi nila ako kilala. Nagsisimula pa lang ako," she said.

She also said she would soon make public some things she discovered about the government's drug war, which has gained notoriety due to the high number of suspects getting killed in police operations. —Dona Magsino/KBK, GMA News