MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday hit back at former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for questioning President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision not to give newly appointed anti-drug czar Vice President Leni Robredo a Cabinet post due to trust issues.
Aquino said Wednesday he was confused why President Duterte designated Robredo as co-chairperson of the Inter-agency Committee Against Illegal Drugs if he does not trust her in the first place.
The former president said one would normally appoint a person that he or she trusts.
In response, Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Aquino would be “better off focusing” on his criminal case.
“As for former President Aquino, he is better off focusing on his case pending before the Sandiganbayan,” Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
Panelo added that instead of meddling with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, Aquino should just focus on his health.
“Lest we forget, the drug problem ballooned in magnitude in his time, obviously due to his neglect in countering this evil that is putting this country into the precipice of generational destruction,” Panelo said.
“The Philippines has been plagued in the past with petty, divisive and parochial politicians. Fortunately, change has arrived with President Duterte having the interest of the Filipino people foremost in his mind as we battle against the dreaded and destructive evil that is destroying the basic fabric of society,” he added.
Panelo also said that it was rare for a leader to give the head of the opposition party “a golden opportunity to oversee the campaign against illegal drugs amid the surpassing accomplishments his administration already achieved relative thereto.”
“What is clear therefore is that President Duterte has transcended politics and trust issues that long divided the nation,” Panelo said./PN
