She was found wanting – Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Tinimbang siya pero kinulang: she was weighed but found wanting.

This was Malacañang’s additional explanation yesterday for the ouster of Vice President Leni Robredo as anti-drug czar less than three weeks after her appointment.

“(Robredo) was fired for incompetence, in addition to her failure to introduce new measures she claimed she had, as against what she claimed to be ineffective method in fighting the drug menace,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

“Tinimbang siya ngunit kulang (She was weighed but found wanting),” Panelo added, insisting that the Vice President had it coming.

Robredo blew her chance to lead the anti-drug campaign after committing “missteps,” according to the Palace spokesman. He noted that the Vice President may have taken her job a step further when she consulted with foreign representatives in dealing with the drug problem.

Panelo also claimed that the administration had provided Robredo information that would help her perform her functions.

“She was given access to everything available in ICAD except classified matters,” Panelo said.

He was also unfazed by the Vice President’s statement that she was just getting started, and that her firing would not prevent her from seeking an end to the killings tied to the campaign.

“She can do as she pleases,” Panelo said.

The President also withdrew Robredo’s appointment because “she was grandstanding,” according to Panelo.

“Let me quote the President. The President said last night to me, ‘She was just grandstanding,’” he said in a television interview.

The presidential spokesman also shot down claims that Duterte could have been threatened by Robredo succeeding in the campaign and thus be a good choice for the presidency in 2022.

“That’s nonsense,’” Panelo said.

Too late?

Malacañang also confirmed that Robredo had submitted recommendations on the government’s crackdown on narcotics, but they came too late.

In a statement released Sunday night, Panelo said Robredo did not have programs to enhance the drug crackdown.

In previous interviews, however, Robredo, who had criticized what she described as “senseless killings” in the campaign, claimed she submitted two recommendations to the Office of the President.

When informed about Robredo’s recommendations during a press conference also last Sunday, Panelo admitted that the Vice President submitted recommendations but they only came a day after Duterte had said he does not trust her with classified information.

The Chief Executive made the remark after Robredo met with representatives of the United Nations, the United States and the Catholic Church, institutions that have been critical of the deaths linked to the war on drugs.

“It is just a subsequent statement to the public statement of the President. Last Tuesday, the President criticized her and last Tuesday, she also submitted a letter clarifying the scope of authority. Subsequently, she submitted two more (documents),” Panelo told reporters. – With Emmanuel Tupas, Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero, Edu Punay