Senator Manny Pacquiao’s running mate, House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza, said that any vice president should not publicly criticize a sitting president even if they have differences.

In a forum hosted by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines on Saturday, November 6, Atienza was asked about the role of a vice president.

Atienza said that the vice president’s role is “not to be a heckler.”

And in answering the question, Atienza hit Vice President Leni Robredo for airing her criticisms of President Rodrigo Duterte in public.

“If I disagree with his program, I will talk to him in private,” said Atienza if elected vice president. “Never, never, never criticize him in public because you have just broken the line of working together. That’s not good for the people. That’s what we saw in the past six years.”

Atienza said that Robredo “did not do what is right.”

“You publicly criticize the President. No vice president should do that,” he said.

Robredo, a presidential aspirant and the face of the opposition, has been critical since the early days of the administration – on the issue of extrajudicial killings, the death penalty push, and the Marcos burial.

Within six months of Duterte’s presidency, the “irreconcilable differences” between the two had led to the President not inviting Robredo to Cabinet meetings. The two have since exchanged words publicly.

Atienza on Saturday likened Robredo’s experience with him working with late Manila mayor Alfredo Lim, whom Atienza called the inventor of “salvaging” or summary execution of criminals.

“I did not agree with that, so when I said I cannot tolerate this. I did not say it in public. I talked to him in private. I explained to him, ‘Killing will lead to more killings. The police will get corrupted. And then, later on, they’ll be our problem,'” Atienza said.

“Pero ‘di ko sinabi sa tao ‘yan. (I did not tell the public about that.) I worked with him in private. But Leni did not do that,” he said.

Atienza was Lim’s vice mayor from 1992 to 1998. After that, Atienza became Manila mayor for three straight terms until 2007.

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Aside from Atienza, vice presidential aspirant Walden Bello was also a speaker at Saturday’s forum.

Bello noted the importance of electing a president and a vice president who come from the same ticket.

“If you have a situation where one does not belong to the same tandem, then you will have a situation – like what has happened during the current administration – that instead of working together, there will always be friction between the two,” Bello said in a mix of English and Filipino.

No experience? ‘Better than Marcos’

Both Atienza and Bello were asked about their position on having a president with no experience in handling national matters.

Pacquiao and veteran labor leader Leody de Guzman both have not held a position in the executive branch.

Atienza answered that he would rather have a president who does not have experience in the national government. (READ: Atienza: If you’re not voting for Manny Pacquiao, don’t vote for me as VP)

“Siguro mas mabuting walang karanasan: walang karanasan sa corruption, walang karanasan sa pagnanakaw, walang karanasan sa pambobola, walang karanasan sa bad government,” said Atienza.

(It’s better to have somebody who does not have experience: no experience in corruption, no experience in stealing, no experience in sweet-talking, no experience in bad government.)

“The brightest that you can ever think of, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, what did he leave us?” Atienza said. “Poverty.”

Bello, meanwhile, said that De Guzman has a wide grasp of what happens on the ground.

“Ka Leody is a fast learner in terms of national management…. He combines grassroots experience, grassroots suffering with the ability to offer us a vision for the future. My sense ako (I can sense that) we will win and prevail, and I’m sorry Cong Lito, but we will win and not you,” said Bello.

In response, Atienza said that he “does not mind losing” to Bello, but expressed confidence in a Pacquiao win. – Rappler.com