Rody: Leni's presence in ouster protests reason behind Cabinet exclusion

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo was excluded from Cabinet meetings because she had attended demonstrations calling for his ouster, President Rodrigo Duterte revealed Thursday.

 

Duterte said he finds odd that Robredo would be facing him in Cabinet meetings after attending rallies of “sore losers” who want him out of office.

 

“Ang problema nito, pag nag-demonstrate sila nandyan yung oust, oust (The problem is whenever they demonstrate they would call for my ouster). Alam mo yung demonstrators diyan, ang left (the left) would never demand (that),” the president told CNN Philippines in an interview.

 

“Wherever you go, they are for Duterte. They will never ever demand for my (ouster). The yellows are the ones who want me out,” he added, referring to the color associated with the political opposition and the previous administration.  

 

“These sore losers cannot accept defeat. She was with them and then the following day, we would face [each] other? Don’t you think it’s a very incongruous thing? Not really for anything. It’s just incongruity.”

 

Duterte was apparently referring to demonstrations condemning his decision to allow the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani

 

“He was with the yellow. In our dialect, yellow refers to ice. That yellow has long melted,” he told GMA News.  

 

“I saw them in their demonstrations and then after that, we see each other in Cabinet meetings?”

Asked by CNN Philippines anchor Pinky Webb if he is considering giving Robredo another Cabinet post, Duterte said:  “At this time, I am not considering.”

 

Duterte reiterated that he is ready to leave the presidency if it is his destiny not to finish his term. He has a stern warning though to officials plotting his ouster.

 

“Don’t mess with me…Probably I’ll give you a good fight. You’ll have a bloody nose,” the tough-talking president said.

 

Early this month, Robredo resigned as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council after she was barred from attending Cabinet meetings. She also claimed that plots to steal the vice presidency from her are now in motion.

 

Malacañang officials said Duterte excluded Robredo from the meeting because of “irreconcilable differences.”

 

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella revealed in a previous press briefing that Duterte was “uncomfortable” with some of Robredo’s “engagement with certain political actions.”

 

Robredo has been a vocal critic of Duterte’s decision to allow the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, father of her political rival former Sen. Bongbong Marcos, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

 

Duterte maintained though that Marcos is qualified to be buried at the hero’s cemetery as a former president and war veteran.