Robredo: Duterte admin ‘obsessed with monopolizing power’

Bea Cupin

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Robredo: Duterte admin ‘obsessed with monopolizing power’
3 Liberal Party members and an ally are stripped of their committee chairmanships in the Senate

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, February 27, lashed out against the Duterte administration for being “obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views.”

This was after senators belonging to or affiliated with the Liberal Party (LP) were stripped of their committee chairmanships. (READ: Liberal Party senators see Palace hand in ouster)

On Monday afternoon, senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, and Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros were removed from key posts in the Senate following a motion by key administration ally, neophyte Senator Manny Pacquiao.

The 4 were once part of the PDP-Laban-led majority bloc. They have since moved to the minority bloc. Akbayan is an ally of the once-ruling LP. 

“When we were given the mandate by the people, we were determined to work with this administration to put national interest before politics. But despite our sincere efforts, it is now clear that the Duterte administration is incapable of tolerating dissent, no matter how constructive,” said Robredo in a statement released to the media.

“What happened in the Senate today is characteristic of an administration obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views,” added Robredo, who was once a member of the Duterte Cabinet.

She resigned as housing chief last December after she was told to stop attending all Cabinet meetings.

The Vice President, a staunch critic of authoritarian rule and of Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, noted that the Philippines has seen moves to monopolize power in the past. 

“This has happened before. In the past, this paved the way for a one-man rule. We will not be silenced. Our nation deserves no less,” said Robredo, who defeated Marcos’ only son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, for the vice presidency during the 2016 elections.

As the LP’s highest elected official, Robredo is also the party’s chairperson.

“Democracy demands dissent,” added Robredo. (READ: Robredo to Duterte: ‘Mr President, we call you to task’)

The shift among the Senate blocs came days after Senator Leila de Lima, an LP member and among President Rodrigo Duterte’s staunchest critics, was arrested for alleged ties to illegal drugs on February 24.

On February 25, all 4 senators attended the 31st anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution. They were all clad in black.

On the same day, Duterte supporters staged a rally in support of the President at the Luneta.

Last week, the Senate was also divided over a vote to reopen a probe into the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS), a vigilante group that was supposedly founded and utilized by Duterte when he was Davao City mayor.

The LP bloc voted to allow Arturo “Arthur” Lascañas, a self-confessed DDS hitman, to testify before the Senate.

Here is Robredo’s full statement:

When we were given the mandate by the people, we were determined to work with this administration to put national interest before politics.

But despite our sincere efforts, it is now clear that the Duterte administration is incapable of tolerating dissent, no matter how constructive.

What happened in the Senate today is characteristic of an administration obsessed with monopolizing power and intent on marginalizing those who have opposing views.

This has happened before. In the past, this paved the way for a one-man rule.

We will not be silenced. Our nation deserves no less.

Democracy demands dissent.

Rappler.com

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Bea Cupin

Bea is a senior multimedia reporter who covers national politics. She's been a journalist since 2011 and has written about Congress, the national police, and the Liberal Party for Rappler.