Locsin to Leni on cancelled passports: Hey, Boba... Someone give her a brain!

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddyboy" Locsin Jr. called Vice President Leni Robredo the Filipino equivalent of stupid after the latter questioned his cancellation of courtesy diplomatic passports of former Filipino diplomats.

Locsin's remarks against Robredo stemmed from the latter's comments that cancellation of diplomatic passports of former government officials unjustly punished Filipinos and was tantamount to siding with China.

"Hey, Boba. That is precisely why I have ordered the cancellation of all courtesy diplomatic passports because I refuse to single out Del Rosario," Locsin said on Twitter.

"Will someone please do her the kindness to give her a brain? Here I am trying to do what's right, which is to restrict diplomatic passports to real existing working diplomats so as not to devalue them abroad—and not pass them out as favors to retirees & friends," he added.

Robredo warns against cancellation of diplomatic passports of former gov’t officials HEY, BOBA, THAT IS PRECISELY WHY I HAVE ORDERED THE CANCELLATION OF ALL COURTESY DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS BECAUSE I REFUSE TO SINGLE OUT DEL ROSARIO. https://t.co/5VIXUMjlCs via @manilabulletin

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 24, 2019

Will someone please do her the kindness to give her a brain? Here I am trying to do what's right, which is to restrict diplomatic passports to real existing working diplomats so as not to devalue them abroad—and not pass them out as favors to retirees & friends. https://t.co/ME8599EeAU

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 24, 2019

Robredo in her radio show on Sunday decried what she called was the apparent "knee-jerk reaction."

"Itong reaksyon ng bansa natin, instead na ipagtanggol iyong... iyong mamamayan ng Pilipinas, parang sinisisi pa at kinansel. Kung palagay ng gobyerno hindi nararapat na holder ng diplomatic passport, dapat kinansel na noon pa," Robredo said.

"Eh bakit kinansel ngayon na nagkaroon na ng problema? Eh kung talagang hindi dapat iyon ginagamit ng mga dating opisyal ng DFA, dapat noong natapos iyong termino, obligasyon ng DFA na i-cancel na," she added.

Locsin in another tweet said he didn't mean to be disrespectful but added that there were things that required "a measure of study and thought." 

"Please ask me next time. At your service, Ma'am," Locsin said.

I don't mean to be disrespectful Ma'am. You are just a missing heartbeat away from the Presidency. I respect you for that accident of fortune. But there are things that require a measure of study & thought. Please ask me next time. At your service, Ma'am. https://t.co/ghTHGtwKeg

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 24, 2019

Told by a netizen to take it easy, Locsin instead apologized.

"Yes. That's no way for a gentleman to speak to a lady. Apologies," Locsin said.

Yes. That’s no way for a gentleman to speak to a lady. Apologies. https://t.co/XiHxOHLfTo

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 24, 2019

The vice-president's spokesperson, Ibarra Gutierrez, responding to Locsin's gibe that Robredo was stupid for saying that the cancellation was a knee-jerk reaction to the Del Rosario incident, said on Monday, "Cancelling courtesy diplomatic passports after China refused to honor former Secretary Albert del Rosario's is not promoting professionalism but justifying cowardice."

The issue on diplomatic passports arose when Del Rosario was held at Hong Kong for six hours, denied entry, and was deported to the Philippines despite having in possession the said travel document.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier admitted that it knew Del Rosario would use the diplomatic passport for a business trip to Hong Kong and did not object to it.

Last March, Del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales filed a complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping for crimes against humanity over Beijing’s efforts to gain control of the resource-rich waters. —NB/KG, GMA News