Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday blamed opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan for the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to sack Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of the government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.
“Uh, Kiko, I think you got her fired. Sometimes no talk, no mistake,” Locsin said in his Twitter account, addressing Pangilinan by his nickname.
READ: Rody fires Leni from ICAD
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President’s decision to remove Robredo was in response to the opposition’s dare to fire her.
Pangilinan, president of the opposition Liberal Party, had said Malacañang should just fire Robredo instead of insulting her with a declaration of distrust.
He also earlier questioned the motive behind the designation of the vice president as ICAD co-chairperson.
In a separate tweet, Locsin said Pangilinan should have given Robredo “a chance to use the opportunity the President gave her to serve in his campaign.”
“The job was offered to her, not to him. Even a bishop chimed in despite the Church’s failure to make drug dealing an ex-communicable sin which it is: drugs destroy souls,” the country’s top diplomat said.
But Pangilinan said the President’s appointment was never serious or sincere.
“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,” he 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.”
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday expressed sadness over the lost opportunity for the administration and the opposition to take a united front against illegal drugs.
“There was this opportunity for the administration and even the opposition to band together and put up a united front against a common enemy which is illegal drugs,” Guevarra said, in an interview.
“But circumstances caused this venture to crash before it could even take flight, so I feel sad about it,” he added.
Guevarra had earlier welcomed Robredo’s appointment to ICAD, expressing openness to her insights on the drug war. He said the position would allow the Vice President access to “firsthand information” regarding the campaign.
But when Robredo asked for a list of high-value targets in the drug war, Duterte said she would be given information “on a need-to-know basis.” He also threatened to fire her if she revealed “state secrets” and said he could not trust her.
READ: Rody to Leni: Leak data, you're fired
The Palace’ statement on the dismissal called out Robredo for meeting with officials of the United Nations and of the US Embassy “who remain out-of-touch from the realities” of the country’s drug problem.
READ: Leni turns to UN for ‘lessons’
