On December 23, 2016, Leni Robredo released a statement and posted it in the ovp.gov.ph website. The statement partly ready (source):
“The threat of a return to Martial Law and one-man-rule is the worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people.”
“As Filipinos, we have demonstrated our courage to stand up and make our voices heard for the sake of protecting our freedom and fighting for the truth.”
“Moreover, for President Duterte to challenge the democratic safeguards of the very constitution he swore to uphold on June 30, 2016 is appalling”
She made this comment after President Duterte said the following (source):
“Kung mag-declare ako ng martial law at may invasion ngayon o giyera, I cannot proceed on and on, lalo na kung may gulo. Pupunta pa ako sa Congress, pupunta pa ako doon sa Supreme Court, if there is anybody who’d file a complaint to look into the factual, kung totoo ba, which you could not do.”
“Eh kung iba ang Supreme Court, magsabi ang Congress yes, no ito, or no ito, yes itong isa? Saan mo ako ilagay? Kaya kailangan ko talagang palitan ‘yan.”
“There is a safety measure there. I’ll just tell you later.”
I suggest you watch the full video of his speech here:
It is clear from Duterte’s statement that he never threatened to declare martial law. He was clearly just criticizing the limitations of the Martial Law powers of the President in times of war or invasion. Criticism is far from a threat. I can criticize the law but it cannot be considered as a threat to break it. When I criticize someone does it mean I am threatening them in any way? I don’t think so.
Leni however considered is as a threat. In fact her reaction to Duterte’s statement was clear “The threat of a return to Martial Law and one-man-rule is the worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people.” This sentence in itself is clear that Leni was accusing President Duterte of threatening the Filipino people with Martial Law. Leni even went further and said that for President Duterte to challenge the democratic safeguards of the very constitution he swore to uphold is appalling. Again Leni equates criticism with a direct challenge. Leni accusing Duterte to threatening to destroy the very consitution he was elected to uphold but Duterte never mentioned any threat. In fact, if you listen to the entire speech, it was clear that the things Duterte wanted changed in the constitution he wanted done through a proper constitutional amendment. How is this a threat to democracy when the way he wants his changes made is allowed by the constitution?
To top it all off, the VP’s spokes-person Georgina Hernandez posted this statement recently:
The statement coming from Leni’s spokesperson is just another layer of lie coming from the Office of the Vice President. Her characterization that Leni did not intend to make it appear that President Duterte was going to declare Martial Law is a bold faced lie. Did she even hear what Leni said? To claim that Leni’s statement was not a direct accusation that President Duterte is threatening to declare Martial Law is intellectually dishonest. To add insult to injury, Georgina Hernandez had the gall to blame President Duterte for Leni’s mischaracterization of his statement. And to add salt to the wounds, Georgina Hernandez makes the same accusation she just said Leni never made that there is a threat of Martial Law from the current administration.
If taxpayer money is being spent for her salary then President Duterte should seriously consider defunding the Office of the Vice President in the next budget cycle. The Office of the Vice President is clearly being used as a political tool for one person. Leni has no real government function and purpose and constitutionally she has no real political power. Leni has not won the trust of President Duterte and the most recent SWS survey shows more Filipinos are not satisfied with her performance. In short, Leni is a lame duck political figure and all she is good at is quacking.
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