President Rodrigo Duterte said that Vice President Leni Robredo is not fit for presidency following her statement on his decision to ask the United States for payment on the continuation of Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Robredo called the move on her Sunday radio show as ‘extortion’.
“Parang extortion lang. Parang kriminal eh, kung gusto mo nito magbayad ka muna,” Robredo said on Sunday.
Duterte said Robredo should stop commenting because the US owed the country.
“Itong kay Robredo, sabi ko nga ma’am, kung ikaw ang presidente, hindi mo alam ang trabaho mo, dapat alam mo ‘yan kasi abogado ka. You should not open your mouth when we are negotiating because maraming kasalanan ang Amerika sa atin,” Duterte said in a speech on Monday night.
Duterte also said that Robredo is not fit for the President.
“I’m sorry to say, you are not really qualified to run for president. You do not know your role in this government. Foreign relations with other countries are vested on the president alone,” he said.
“Every time she opens her mouth…she forgets that she’s a lawyer. And being a lawyer, she should know that the Constitution says that…that is my function. That is not her function. At kung anong gusto kong sabihin para sa aking bayan, may purpose ‘yan. Hindi kasi nila alam,” Duterte said.
The President also said Subic was slowly being turned into an American base.
“Sa mga nagsasabing extortion, hindi po iyan extortion. ‘Yan po ay pagtaguyod ng national na interes ng mga Pilipino, at dahil marami po tayong gastusin lalong lalo na sa COVID-19, bakit di tayo sumingil?” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
Malacañang said that the country is getting an amount close to the $16 billion compensation of Pakistan, which is equivalent to over P766 billion. The Philippines however only received over $3.9 billion, or more than PHP186 billion, as of 2017. (TDT)
