MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar does not believe Vice President Leni Robredo is involved in an e-mail group allegedly planning to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, he said Tuesday.
"I'm not saying it's the vice president, I don't even think it's the vice president herself, baka yung mga tao niya?" Andanar said in a televised interview on ANC on Tuesday morning.
Over the weekend, archives of supposed e-mails in a Global Filipino Diaspora Council Yahoo! Group between group members and supposed members of the Office of the Vice President circulated on social media. The supposed emails have been dubbed "LeniLeaks".
Robredo has repeatedly denied involvement in any plots to oust the president and has also repeatedly said that ouster attempts will not be good for the country.
She said Monday that she does not know much about the so-called LeniLeaks issue.
"Hindi ko alam kung ano ang participation ko, na-memention daw ang pangalan ko pero hindi ako kabahagi nung grupong iyon. Mayroon din daw e-mails na nag-cicirculate, wala. Hindi rin ako kabahagi doon," she said in an interview with media in Marinduque.
READ: VP's camp: 'LeniLeaks' posted on public forum
Andanar said the Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently investigating to see if the group is a genuine Yahoo! group and if the members listed are who they say they are.
"Sa Yahoo! Groups kasi, your name can be included even without your permission," Andanar explained.
Andanar said that the investigation should focus on the people who are active in the conversation.
"You cannot put everyone, all the names here, and say they're involved, and they're all in sundry, you cannot do that," Andanar added.
He said that although the vice president is not in the supposed e-mail group, there are names of people in the Office of the Vice President who are. A certain Pete Silva supposedly from the OVP's social media team was mentioned in one of the e-mails.
"Kailangan niyang disipilanhin yung mga tao niya kung sila nga itong mga andito," Andanar said.