The Chief Executive admitted that he has accepted the resignation of Vice President Robredo as Housing Secretary “with a heavy heart”.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has accepted the resignation of Vice President Leni Robredo as the chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) which she tendered on Monday.
According to the President, he accepted her resignation “with a heavy heart” after almost five months of working in his Cabinet as Housing Secretary.
President Duterte held a meeting with the members of his Cabinet at the Malacañang Palace on December 5, Monday, without Robredo in attendance.
“It is with a heavy heart that I accept the resignation of Vice President Leni Robredo”, Duterte said.
On Sunday, Vice President Robredo announced that she will be resigning from her post as a HUDCC chairman after receiving a text message from Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco Jr., that the President has instructed, through his executive assistant Christopher “Bong” Go, for her to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings” starting Monday.
Robredo felt that prohibiting her from attending the Cabinet meetings will make it impossible for her to carry her duties out as a member of the Cabinet.
“Hence, I am tendering my resignation from the Cabinet on Monday, December 5, 2016”, she said in the statement with the assurance that despite her resignation, the Filipino people can expect her to still support the positive initiatives of the Duterte administration.
However, Vice President Robredo said that she will be at the opposing end if the current administration will push for measures which are inimical to the interest of the people.
Robredo’s resignation gained various reactions from the lawmakers.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said that Robredo was compelled to leave the Cabinet and it was not just a mere resignation, saying that “considering the situation, I think she was fired”.
Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson said that the Malacañang Palace’s actuation of asking the Vice President not to attend the Cabinet meetings anymore can be considered a “not-too-subtle way of telling her that she is not welcome to be a part of the family”.
