Robredo’s ‘missteps’ pushed Duterte not to appoint VP to Cabinet — Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte changed his mind in giving Vice President Leni Robredo a Cabinet post due to “missteps” she allegedly committed as co-chairperson of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President’s “disinclination” to appoint Robredo to the Cabinet stemmed from her recent meetings with foreign institutions and personalities that have allegedly prejudged the campaign and her insistence on getting access to classified documents.

Robredo, co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), recently had meetings with United States officials, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime representatives and other community-based advocacy groups to discuss better ways of management of the illegal drug problem.

The US has criticized the deadly campaign while the UN Human Rights Council agreed in July to compile a comprehensive report on Duterte's three-year crackdown, during which at least 5,700 people have been killed in what police say were shootouts with dealers who resisted arrest.

“The Vice President talking with - and seeking the advice of - certain foreign institutions and personalities that have prejudged the campaign against illegal drugs as a violation of human rights, as well as a crime against humanity, did not sit well with the President,” Panelo said in a statement.

“The VP's actions are all documented [on] mainstream and social media. These missteps not only derailed President Duterte’s well-meaning intent for the Vice President to be part of the administration, but registered red signs that could not be ignored.”

Panelo said Robredo’s insistence on getting access to classified information, “a revelation of which could imperil the welfare of the Filipino people and the security of the state,” added to Duterte’s reconsideration of his earlier desire to appoint her.

The Palace official said Duterte still trusts Robredo as drug czar even as the chief executive already has “reservations” about trusting the Vice President with state secrets.

“Being a member of the Cabinet gives Ms. Robredo unlimited access to sensitive state matters which if transmitted by her whether purposely or otherwise could result in adverse consequences, especially since the VP has the tendency to be generous with acquired information and knowledge to others whose predilection may not be in the best interest of the country,” Panelo said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Robredo’s camp for the Vice President’s reaction but has yet to reply as of posting time.

ICAD post

Duterte earlier warned Robredo that she may lose the ICAD post if she shared classified information.

On Monday, Robredo assured the public on Monday that no sensitive information on the anti-drug campaign will be disclosed.

Robredo accepted the post on November 6, which Duterte offered days after he took exception to her statement that the war on drugs was ineffective in curbing drug use.

The Vice President took on the challenge from Duterte to lead the campaign despite warnings from her allies and supporters that she was being set up to fail. — RSJ, GMA News