Evasco: Robredo should have respected, not criticized Duterte

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. on Tuesday indicated that Vice President Leni Robredo showed disrespect toward President Rodrigo Duterte for her criticisms against the administration outside Cabinet meetings. 

"Ganito. When you are appointed as a member of the Cabinet of any administration, meaning to say that, you participate in the deliberation of issues/programs that have something to do for the betterment of our people. Now, if you are a member of the Cabinet you should respect the presiding officer, who happens to be the President. You cannot just participate in the deliberation and then when you get out, you criticize," he said in a radio interview. 

"If you would want to maintain your being a fiscalizer, then might as well not join the administration Cabinet. So, I am not saying that there was something wrong, but I think it’s just a matter of respect from the Vice President," he added. 

Evasco added that the Cabinet members are expected to have a unified position when they leave the Cabinet meeting despite the disagreements during discussions. 

"Like I’ve said, there has been a very healthy discussion within the Cabinet on issues confronting the nation today. But whatever agreement arrived at during the Cabinet meeting, each one of us has to support such agreement arrived at during the Cabinet meeting," he said as he pointed out that Duterte's Cabinet is considered a rainbow coalition.

Robredo stepped down from her post as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) on Monday after receiving a text message from Evasco asking her to "desist" from attending Cabinet meetings.

The Vice President had opposed Duterte on the issue of the burial of late president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The late dictator's son and namesake, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., narrowly lost to Robredo in the elections last May and has filed a protest.

Robredo has hinted that some members of the Duterte Cabinet would rather have the younger Marcos in place. —JST, GMA News