President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said Vice President Leni Robredo “made an asshole of herself” when she had reached out to foreign entities critical of the administration’s anti-narcotics campaign.
READ: Duterte: Give Leni greater leeway
The President also dared Robredo to divulge her supposed discoveries in the drug war. “You seem to be threatening that you have an information. Divulge it. That statement that you have information—how many days had she been there? She made an asshole of herself—always talking,” Duterte said in a chance interview in Malacañang.
“Instead of talking to the law enforcement, instead of talking to the barangay captain, instead of talking with people in the rehabilitation [centers]…she made an asshole of herself,” he added.
President Duterte’s frustration appeared to stem from the tweet of human rights advocate Phelim Kine.
In a Nov. 11 tweet, Kine said: “Dear VP [Robredo]—my bags are packed and I’m ready to come to the Philippines to help advise how to end this murderous ‘drug war.’ Meanwhile here is my Recommendation No. 1: Arrest #Duterte and his henchmen for inciting & instigating mass murder.”
“Why did he tweet ‘I’m packed and ready to go? Arrest Duterte?’” Duterte said, adding that he is ready to shoot Kine, whom he mistook anew as a United Nations prosecutor.
The President previously threatened to slap Kine in front of Robredo if the human rights advocate will visit the country.
Duterte fired Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs on Sunday, 18 days since she assumed the post after insisting there can be no trust between them since they belong to opposing political parties.
READ: Rody fires Leni from ICAD
Robredo, however, said she will disclose matters she had discovered during her short-lived stint in ICAD.
READ: Leni vows to pursue fight
“In the coming days, I will give a report to the people. I will reveal what I discovered and my recommendations,” Robredo said.
“I assure you that even if I was stripped of the position, my determination to stop the killings, to make those accountable pay and to win our campaign against illegal drugs remains,” she added.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo continued to taunt Robredo Thursday, asking why it was taking so long for her to reveal her supposed discoveries about the government’s war on illegal drugs.
“Why is she taking so long? Is it because somebody is preparing it for her? What is that report? Because if you discovered something… She is always conducting press con[ferences] so she should have said it,” Panelo said.
“If it is true, she should have released her findings then. Is it because they are still creating a ghost from it?” Panelo added.
Asked if he thinks Robredo’s report is fabricated, Panelo said: “Presumably.”
Duterte appointed Robredo as ICAD co-chair on Oct. 31, apparently irked by her remarks that the drug war should be examined.
Robredo accepted the post on Nov. 6 to lead Duterte’s flagship campaign that has killed more than 5,000 drug suspects and condemned by local and foreign human rights groups.
During her short stint in ICAD, Robredo met with the 21-member agency of ICAD, officials from the Department of Health, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Community-Based Drug Rehab Alliance, and US Embassy officials to discuss how to improve community-based rehabilitation centers.
READ: Robredo taps US for drug war
Robredo also visited drug-infected barangays, asking for their cooperation to get rid of illegal drugs in their area.
READ: Locsin joins fray, blames LP for Robredo’s fall