Vice President Leni Robredo was actually fired by President Duterte from her post as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
She was told by Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco that the President didn’t want her to attend Cabinet meetings anymore. That was a clear message from Mr. Duterte that she no longer enjoyed the confidence of the appointing power. Thus, she must resign. And that was exactly what she did.
Malacañang cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of her resignation. My gulay, when an alter ego of the President no longer believes in the appointing power, they should resign if they have any self-respect or delicadeza left.
This also applies to other Cabinet members: Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, National Anti-Poverty Commission head Liza Maza, among others. They have been very vocal in their opposition to the Marcos burial. But they are not stepping down because it appears they enjoy the perks they are getting.
What bigots and hypocrites!
What made me laugh was the statement of Robredo that her resignation was all part of plot to “steal the vice presidency.” Steal the vice presidency when in fact it was she, with the help of BS Aquino and the Liberal Party, who stole the vice presidency from former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
Now that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal is set to rule in favor of Bongbong Marcos, Robredo and the Yellows are saying that there’s a plot to steal the vice presidency. To me, my gulay, this is Robredo’s conscience bothering her.
Another member of the cabinet who was also told not to attend cabinet meetings was Patricia Licuanan, chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. Just why she has not yet resigned is a big question.
This reminds me that there are still hundreds of “leftovers” from the BS Aquino administration, and they are all enjoying their perks!
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I can believe the news reports that demoralization has set in among the rank and file of the Philippine National Police. This is because of the reinstatement of Supt. Marvin Marcos, regional head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, who was not only named as having been involved in the illegal drug trade, but was the head of the raiding team that served a search warrant on jailed Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa. That raid is suspected to have been a rubout; he knew who among the police were also involved.
This is clearly a case of double standard—one, for friends and allies of the President, and another one for others in the police force. I cannot buy the excuse of Duterte that Marcos was reinstated because he wants to look into the paper trail.
So why didn’t Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa resign when told by “a higher-up” that Marcos should be reinstated after he himself had relieved Marcos? Any self-respecting government functionary should have resigned under the circumstances. But it seems Dela Rosa is also clinging to his post.
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Malacañang is committing a big mistake in insisting on the appointment of lawyer Randy Escolange, former deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, as administrator of the Subic Freeport.
President Duterte must not forget that in the many instances when both the chairman and the administrator were appointed, conflict became inevitable. On the other hand, when a single appointee acted as both chairman and administrator, there was peace at the SBMA.
I recall the time when the now-Senator Dick Gordon was both chairman and administrator of the Subic Freeport. That was a good, peaceful time. The same thing happened during the term of Felicito Payumo.
But I also remember the time, during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Aroyo, there was a chairman and there was an administrator, and both of them quarrelled over turf all the time.
I was in Subic when both the chairman and the administrator were ready to shoot each other. They were arguing on who should occupy the Admiral’s Cottage.
The Bases Conversion and Authority Development Act of 1992 is not very clear on who should be appointed and to what post. Still, a mere executive order cannot amend the law. I also believe that both the chairman and the administrator should just be one person.
This is an issue that has festered at the Freeport for so long. Congress must clarify the law.
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I am surprised that Customs Commissioner Nick Faeldon is concerned about the long-delayed overtime pay of Customs, Personnel at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which has remained unpaid despite a Supreme Court ruling favoring the Customs people.
But there is another Supreme Court ruling mandating that the Board of Airline Representatives, led by both Philippine Airline and Cebu Pacific, together with all foreign airlines requiring overtime of Customs personnel is a biggest tragedy right here at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where some 900 Customs personnel worked. They have not been paid their overtime, travel and meal allowances amounting to close to P1.7 billion.
The news report said that Faeldon has written to Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez who has written to both PAL and Cebu Pacific to remind them of the financial obligation. Just why the Customs Commissioner is acting only on behalf of Customs personnel in Cebu surprises me.
It is really tragic when we know that many of the 900 Naia Customs personnel have since retired or passed away without getting their pay.
Not one of the past five Customs Commissioners before Faeldon looked into the matter. And now Secretary Dominguez has not lifted a finger, either.
Now, Faeldon is moving, why is he being selective?