PH
MANILA, Philippines — A former lawmaker said Vice President Sara Duterte’s criticisms against the current administration comes off as “very ironic” as they vilified former Vice President Leni Robredo when she did the same against Duterte’s father.
In a press briefing on Friday, former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that Robredo, even if she was armed with data on the former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, was still subjected to harsh criticisms as she was accused of painting a bad picture of the Philippines.
However, Barbers noted that Duterte is basically doing the same thing, when she said in a protest rally in the Hague, Netherlands that the gun violence situation in the country is so bad that it only takes P5,000 to hire a hitman.
“Ironic, masyadong malaking irony dahil nga during the (term of the) father of VP Duterte, eh na-call out nila ‘yong mga ganyang statements issued by the former Vice President, si Leni Robredo. In fact, sinasabi nga nila, at galit na galit sila na you are painting a bad picture ng Pilipinas, ‘pagka gan’yan ang sinasabi mo,” Barbers, spokesperson for the prosecution team in Duterte’s impeachment, said.
(Ironic, this is too big of an irony because during the (term of the) father of VP Duterte, they called out such statements issued by the former Vice President, Leni Robredo. In fact, they were angry and they said that Robredo was painting a bad picture of the Philippines when she mentioned such things.)
“But I remember that what the former Vice President was saying, was based on data that she was holding onto. ‘Di ba meron siyang pinapakitang dokumento, and […] walang kumontra doon sa sinabing may mga extrajudicial killings because there were a lot of deaths that are under investigation, and deaths that are walang leads or investigation na ginagawa?” he added.
(But I remember that what the former Vice President was saying was based on data that she was holding onto. Wasn’t she showing documents, and […] nobody opposed that there were extrajudicial killings because there were a lot of deaths that are under investigation, and deaths that do not have leads or investigation done?)
Robredo won the vice presidency in 2016, but her running mate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, lost against former president Duterte. Through the course of their six-year term, Robredo received numerous criticisms from Duterte’s allies in Congress, in the cabinet, and his supporters.
In March 2017 — less than a year after both leaders took office — Duterte ally and former House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez announced the possibility of filing impeachment complaints against Robredo, as she supposedly committed betrayal of public trust when she criticized the administration’s war against îllégâl drugs.
Alvarez was referring to Robredo’s decision to send a video message to the United Nations, where she called out Duterte for the bloody drug war and claimed the existence of a “palit ulo” scheme. Under this system, members of poor families are rounded up by the police in place of drug personalities who were missing back then.
According to Alvarez, the former Vice President painted the country in a bad light before the international community, which may have serious economic consequences.
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In October 2019, former president Duterte himself challenged Robredo to handle the drug war operations, as he was frustrated with the former Vice President’s remarks during an interview with foreign media.
Duterte accused Robredo of seeking the stoppage of the drug war, but Robredo clarified that she only sought for a reassessment of the program.
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The challenge was eventually accepted by Robredo, allowing her to be a co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-îllégâl Drugs.
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But just after 19 days, Duterte fired Robredo from the spot, after saying that he does not trust the former Vice President. One reason why Duterte said he cannot trust Robredo was because the latter supposedly invited prosecutors from foreign courts — including one certain prosecutor that Duterte threatened to slap.
Robredo, however, believes that Duterte was referring to Physicians for Human Rights investigating chief Phelim Kine, who said in a tweet that he is open to help solve the drug war with Robredo at the helm.
Kine also advocated for the arrest of Duterte over the drug war, but Robredo said Kine was neither one of the officials she invited nor met with.
Roxas too
Barbers also said he finds it ironic that Duterte supporters called out Roxas when he said that he knows where to buy îllégâl drugs in Davao City — in an attempt to illustrate the area’s drug problem — but are now mum on Vice President Duterte’s statements about knowing how much hitmen are ρáíd.
Roxas said that he knows where the drug hotspots in Davao City are, in trying to debunk Duterte’s claims that the city where he was a longtime mayor was drug-free. This was during the time that both Roxas and Duterte were eyeing the presidency.
“Kay Secretary Mar Roxas before, he said that he knows where to buy, ‘di ba, because based on the intelligence report, probably shared with him by his PNP (Philippine National Police) before, alam niya kung saan nakukuha. At palagay ko, eh pwede niyang panindigan at patunayan ‘yon, kung saka-sakaling inaccept ‘yong challenge niya,” Barbers said.
(With Secretary Mar Roxas before, he said that he knows where to buy, right, because based on the intelligence report, probably shared with him by his PNP (Philippine National Police) before, he knows where the sources are. And I think he can stand by that, if ever his challenge was accepted.)
“I remember, openly on national TV, sinabi niya, if you want I can tell you where to get (drugs) and papaano kukuha ng ganyan ano. Do’n naman sa sinabi ni VP Duterte ngayon, parang ‘yon ang nakakabahala, gaya nang sinabi ko kanina, medyo hindi dapat na nagsasalita ng gano’n ang isang Bise Presidente considering that the office that she represents must have a very, very high standards of propriety, decency, and of course dignity,” he added.
(I remember, openly on national TV, he said that if you want I can tell you where to get (drugs) and how to do that. Compared to what VP Duterte is saying now, this is more concerning because like I said earlier, Vice Presidents should not speak like that considering that the office that she represents must have very, very high standards of propriety, decency, and of course dignity.)
Barbers said the right thing to do, after the Vice President knew how much is needed to hire a hitman, is to inform law enforcement agencies about this matter.
“Dapat nga bigyan niya ng lead ‘yong ating PNP, NBI and all law enforcement agencies, kung sino itong mga ‘to nang sa gano’n eh matigil ‘yong ganito mga krimen na pagpatay,” he said.
(She should have given our PNP, NBI, and all law enforcement agencies information on who these people are so that killings and other crimes would stop.)
Barbers is not the first to call out Duterte over her statements. On Thursday, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon asked whether P5,000 is what she ρáíd to the hitman who has been tasked to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his relatives in case she dies.
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