PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday told the members of his Cabinet to stop squabbling over politics even as a source said they were beginning to quarrel.
In a speech before calamity victims in Batanes province, Duterte said he will not allow politics to overpower his Cabinet over the issues surrounding the country.
“Hindi kami nag-uusap ng pulitika at ako’y nagagalit basta”•I do not allow the Cabinet talking about politics. I do not even want to hear that,” Duterte said.
He made his statement even as a farmers’ group criticized Vice President Leni Robredo for opposing the proposed two-year ban on the conversion of agricultural land for other purposes.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas called Robredo, who heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, a “fake agrarian reform advocate” favoring real estate companies.
“Robredo is not at all concerned with the state of the homeless. She is protecting the business interests of real estate firms,” KMP secretary- general Antonio Flores said.
Duterte, who ran under PDP-Laban, said any money that would be collected would be allocated to all the calamity victims.
“Kung ano ‘yung pera natin, paghati-hatian tayo palagi. It will be divided equally na walang”•ito dito, kontra partido, wala ‘yan and as a matter of fact, nandiyan man ‘yan si Mark [Villar], pati si Ben [Diokno], pati si Judy [Taguiwalo],” Duterte said.
Duterte made his statement even as an administration source who refused to be identified said Duterte’s Cabinet members were quarreling.
“Everyone just wants to be heard,” the source said.
“It seems everyone has their own tack.”
The issue became more apparent after members of the President’s economic team submitted to Malacañang on Wednesday their position paper formally opposing the proposed two-year moratorium on the conversion of agricultural land into subdivisions, a proposal started by Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, a leftist, whom the economic team branded as “anti-poor.”
Robredo on Thursday joined the fray, saying that would hurt the homeless.
But the leftist members of the Cabinet accused Robredo and the members of the economic team of being beholden to capitalists.
NAPC head Liza Maza, head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission on Friday attacked the HUDCC’s “anti-poor” low cost housing projects, whom she said were beholden to private entities.
Malacañang declined to comment on the issue and said it would refer the issue to Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.