NOT SHABU HOTBED. Vice President Leni Robredo and Naga City's officials commemorate the 6th death anniversary of her late husband, interior secretary and longtime Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo. Photo by OVP

MANILA, Philippines – The City Council of Naga voiced its "indignation" over President Rodrigo Duterte's claim that their city was once a hotbed of shabu or the illegal drug methamphetamine.

"Be it resolved, as it is hereby resolved, to express in unequivocal terms the City of Naga's indignation over the statement of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that Naga City was once a 'hotbed of shabu,' apparently uttered irresponsibly and without factual basis," the Naga City Council said in Resolution No. 2018-541.

The office of Vice President Leni Robredo, whose bailiwick is Naga, sent reporters a copy of the resolution on Saturday, August 18, the same day her hometown commemorated the 6th death anniversary of her late husband, former interior secretary and longtime Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo.

The resolution was adopted on Friday, August 17, and signed by Mayor John Bongat, Vice Mayor Nelson Legacion, City Council Secretary Gil dela Torre, and the following city councilors:

Cecilia Veluz de Asis

Gregoria Abonal

Elmer Baldemoro

Julian Lavadia Jr

Joselito del Rosario

Vidal Castillo

Ray-an Rentoy

Salvador del Castillo

Antonio Beltran

Mary Kyle Tripulca

The city leaders were reacting to this statement by Duterte in Malacañang on August 14: "I have nothing against Robredo. She's a lawyer. You have heard her talk. But I do not think she can improve on anything here. Of course, she will deny it. But you can ask the hotbed of shabu in the past years. I would not mention the name. It was Naga City."

But Naga officials denied this, arguing in their resolution that the city has implemented various anti-drug programs since 2001, when Robredo's husband Jesse was still mayor, until the current term of Bongat. (READ: HOAX: 'Robredo's legalize shabu article on Rappler')

The resolution also states Naga has been allocating "substantial" funds to help drug addicts recover from their addiction. An anti-drug abuse task force and joint command operations centers have also been established.

Naga's reintegration program has so far helped 2,891 drug users recover from their addiction.

Naga's officials then invited the President to visit their city and walk in its "safe, peaceful, and drug-free streets."

Read a full copy of Naga City Council Resolution No. 2018-541 below:

– Rappler.com </s> Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) — Vice President Leni Robredo is strongly protesting President Rodrigo Duterte's remark that her hometown is a "hotbed of shabu."

"Hindi natin ito ite-take sitting down, kasi unang una, hindi totoo. Kasi kung totoo ito, tayo pa iyong yuyuko para humingi ng tawad. Pero dahil hindi siya totoo, talagang magrereklamo tayo na, iyon nga, pambabastos sa lahat na taga-Naga iyon," Robredo told reporters in a chance interview in Naga City Saturday.

[Translation: "We will not take this sitting down. First of all, this is not true. Because if it were true, we would be the first ones to bow down and ask forgiveness. Since it's not true, we protest this insult to the people of Naga."]

She said the city government has sent her a "resolution of indignation" over the President's accusation.

"Pinoprotesta natin iyon (We protest) with the strongest of terms," she said, adding that it is a "huge insult" that discredits the hard work of local government officials to preserve Naga's reputation.

Officials earlier said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is validating reports of illegal drug operations in the city. When asked why Duterte came up with a conclusion already, Interior Officer-In-Charge Eduardo Año said the President "has his own sources."

Robredo, who has expressed willingness to lead the opposition against Duterte's policies, suspects it was part of politicking and calls it "unfair" for the administration to involve the entire city.

"Ako na lang sana iyong siraan, kasi kung ako naman iyong puntirya, ako na lang," Robredo said.

In a speech Tuesday night, Duterte said shabu has been proliferating in Robredo's hometown in Naga, as he again cast doubt on her competence as the second top government official.

"Of course she will deny it. But you can ask the hotbed of shabu in the past years, I would not mention the name… It was Naga City," Duterte said.

Robredo earlier refused to comment on the issue, saying it was not true and called on the President to focus on work, not politics.

"Ang daming problema ng bansa; asikasuhin na lang iyong problema ng bansa kaysa pulitika parati," Robredo said.

[Translation: The country has a lot of problems; let's just fix these problems instead of engaging in politics.] </s> President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo that there was no plot to steal the vice presidency from her.

In an interview during the groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Bicol International Airport in Legazpi City, the President said Robredo, who is from Bicol, would keep her post until the last day of her term.

“I will assure Leni and the rest of the Bicol region that you will have her until the very end of her term,” Duterte told reporters.

“There is no such thing as removing of a vice president,” the President added.

Duterte issued the statement when asked about Robredo’s claim that there was a plan to steal her position following her resignation as housing chief.

Robredo claimed her resignation from the Cabinet was due to the Executive branch’s apparent lack of support for housing initiatives and the President’s order that she stop attending Cabinet meetings. </s> Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Friday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to help the poor by focusing on the war against poverty and to lead the country in respecting human rights.

Speaking in a forum hosted by the UP School of Economics where she earned her Bachelor’s degree, Robredo said that the Philippines cannot be saved by “false prophets of change who claim that they are the people’s last hope.”

“Poverty is the real problem, but we are distracted by political agenda and ambition. Mr. President, we call you to task. In behalf of the Filipino people, whose daily struggles are escalating, we ask you to focus on the war that really matters: the war on poverty. Our people are hungry, jobless and poor,” the Vice President said.

“Please use your leadership to point the nation towards respect for rule of law, instead of disregard for it; to uphold the basic human rights enshrined in the institution, instead of encouraging its abuse. Be the leader you

 promised to be, and stop the lies that are distorting the truth in our society today,” she added.

Duterte has been soundly criticized for his bloody campaign against illegal drugs which led to the killing of at least 7,000 drug suspects by the police or unidentified armed men.

Robredo also decried the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima, who like her is a member of the Liberal Party. She called on the Filipino people to defy what she described as brazen violation of human rights.

“The message [of de Lima’s arrest]was loud and clear: anyone who dares speak dissent is not safe. We are made to believe that those who protest and oppose are traitors to the nation and its people. The public is made to believe that the Philippines is in complete dysfunction, and that only the most bloody measures can cure our country of its ills. As we celebrate the anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, we are called upon to reject these lies,” Robredo said.

“The change that we so desire begins with us—in the way we live our lives, in the way we protect the rights and liberties that EDSA restored, in the way we continue the unfinished work of the revolution. Never forget that liberty rightfully belongs to our nation and its people. Never forget that together, we can make a stand for every Filipino who suffers injustice, for those who have been betrayed and neglected, and for those who continue to aspire for progress in our country,” she added. </s> Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo that there was no plot to steal the vice presidency from her.

In an interview following the groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Bicol International Airport in Legazpi City, the President said Robredo, who is from Bicol, would keep her post.

“I will assure Leni and the rest of the Bicol region that you will have her until the very end of her term,” Duterte told reporters. “There is no such thing as removing of a vice president,” he added.

The President issued the statement when asked about Robredo’s claim that there was a plot to steal her position following her resignation as housing chief last Monday.

The former Camarines Sur representative is facing an electoral protest lodged by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., whom she defeated in the May elections with a margin of 263,473 votes.

Robredo claimed her resignation from the Cabinet was due to the Executive branch’s apparent lack of support for housing initiatives and the President’s order that she stop attending Cabinet meetings.

Robredo as well as the Palace officials also noted that she and Duterte have opposing views on several issues, including the hero’s burial for Marcos’ father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Duterte made the statement a day after accusing the “Yellows,” or allies of the previous Aquino administration led by the Liberal Party, of plotting to oust him.

The Liberal Party on Thursday denied it was planning to oust President Duterte.

“It’s not true. There’s no such plot and you know, I don’t know where the President gets his information, but we deny that we are plotting,” said Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon, a party leader.

Drilon said the party was just stating its positions on various issues, some of which were opposed to the President’s positions, like the burial of former president Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“So these are views that we expressed as a party and they have nothing to do with any plan allegedly to oust the president. We deny that categorically,” Drilon said.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, acting Liberal Party president, also dismissed the allegation, noting that many party members have jumped ship to parties allied with Malacañang.

“Being critical of the burial of Marcos in the Libingan or being critical of the spate of extrajudicial killings does not mean we want Duterte ousted,” Pangilinan said.

Still, Liberal senators have no plans of leaving the majority bloc in the chamber, led by the Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipno-Lakas ng Bayan. </s> The alleged plot to unseat President Rodrigo Duterte being attributed to Vice President Leni Robredo showed how “twisted and paranoid” this administration has become, an opposition lawmaker said.

“’LeniLeaks’ again show us how twisted and paranoid the demigods under the Duterte administration has become,” Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said in a statement on Monday.

Villarin, an ally of Robredo, criticized the administration for spreading “hateful rumors” only to cover up their own fears.

“Why burden the public with hateful rumors? What good will it bring to put down a good person except to assuage their own fears and insecurities,” Villarin said.

Villarin appealed to the administration to call for unity of principle and decency during the new year.

“Let the new year be a chance for our country to be united along principles of decency and tolerance, not drown by lies and deceit,” Villarin said.

Robredo became a subject of online backlash after her rabid online critics and trolls on Facebook spread screenshots of supposed emails from Robredo’s known supporters calling for Duterte’s resignation and protests against the President’s support for the hero’s burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Another viral post showed an email from the Office of the Vice President’s social media unit urging its trolls to launch a counteroffensive against Duterte; social media personalities who were Robredo’s rabid critics; and defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos, who filed an electoral protest against Robredo.

While the Office of the Vice President has not yet issued a statement about it, Robredo denied being part of any ouster moves against Duterte.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he has asked National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to investigate the alleged ouster plot.

Robredo had resigned from the Cabinet after she was ordered by Duterte to desist from attending Cabinet meetings due to irreconcilable differences.

Duterte later said he asked Robredo to stop attending the meetings over allegations that she joined protests against him, an accusation the vice president vehemently denied.

Robredo has criticized Duterte’s support for the burial of the dictator Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, as well as the administration’s bloody war on drugs, which has claimed over 6,000 lives already, including those killed in the crossfire. JE </s> 'This is a time of fear, fear of what is going to happen next, pero manalig tayo... ‘Wag paghinaan ng loob,' Vice President Leni Robredo tells her supporters

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo reassured her supporters they have nothing to be afraid of as the ballot recount for the electoral protest filed against her begins on Monday, April 2.

The Vice President delivered a 6-minute speech after attending a multi-sectoral Mass organized by the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance around two hours before the Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), kicked off the ballot recount.

Robredo likened her message for her supporters gathered at St Scholastica’s College Manila’s chapel to the day’s gospel message of hope on Jesus Christ’s resurrection. (READ: Robredo on Easter: Unite amid threats to democracy)

“Kaya siguro to all our supporters and our friends who are here today, ‘yong pinapasabi din ng ating mga lawyers: Wala tayong dapat ikatakot. Wala tayong dapat ikatakot kasi katotohanan ang ating ipinaglalaban,” said the Vice President.

She acknowledged her supporters have many reasons to fear. The electoral protest she is facing was filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. (READ: TIMELINE: Marcos-Robredo election case)

Robredo had also resigned in December 2016 as housing czar of President Rodrigo Duterte, who had barred her to attending Cabinet meetings. Duterte, a known ally of the Marcoses, supported the hero’s burial of the late strongman.

But the Vice President remains hopeful about the results of the ballot recount.

“This is a time of fear, fear of what is going to happen next, pero manalig tayo. Gawin lang ‘yong dati na nating ginagawa. ‘Wag paghinaan ng loob. Maraming limitasyon, pero sa liit ng mundo natin ngayon, kailangan tayo. Kailangan tayo para patuloy na magbigay ng liwanag,” said Robredo.

“Kasi kung tayo mismo ang umayaw, lalong didilim ang paligid, and so many people are looking up to us, for us to fight for them. Kaya patuloy lang tayo,” she added.

Robredo’s speech was heard by sisters from the Order of Saint Benedict, her legal team led by lawyers Romulo Macalintal and Bernadette Sardillo, and her supporters who were clad in white.

Her legal counsels also participated in the Mass, with Macalintal reading the First Reading and Sardillo joining the offertory.

The Vice President's legal team was also blessed by Fr Ted Gonzales, who celebrated the Mass, and other priests present.

Robredo beat Marcos by only 263,473 votes in the 2016 polls, leading the latter to allege cheating and to file the electoral protest against her two years ago.

Marcos is seeking to recount ballots from 36,465 clustered precincts and also nullify votes in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao. His bid to question the integrity of the 2016 elections as a whole was already junked by the PET.

Robredo, meanwhile, also filed her counter-protest, which seeks to recount ballots from 30,000 polling precincts in various provinces where Marcos won. – Rappler.com </s> Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Monday denied allegations that she is part of a group plotting the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte, calling such accusations ridiculous.

In a chance interview with reporters in Marinduque where she visited victims of Typhoon Nina, Robredo clarified that the supposed e-mail exchange among her supporters led by philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis did not involve her or her office. She said Lewis had been her supporter since 2013 when she decided to run for a congressional post as representative of Camarines Sur.

“She [was]one of my supporters when I ran for Congress because she is also from Bicol. I have talked to her way back, I think even before the [vice presidential]campaign started. But since I won [as Vice President], we haven’t seen or talked to each other. It is not true that we met in the US,” the Vice President said, referring to her Christmas vacation in the US where she attended a family reunion with her three daughters Aika, Tricia and Jillian.

“We did not have a personal meeting, and we did not even have a phone conversation or see each other in the US. So those things you’ve heard about that topic are false,” Robredo pointed out.

“I am not involved in those e-mail exchanges. These e-mails mentioned my name, which are not surprising because I am the Vice President and I have supporters who respond to attacks on me. I have been at the receiving end of fake news and falsehoods, and the e-mails were an apparent response,” she said.

The leaked emails that supposedly showed a plot to undermine President Duterte were posted online.

 “Most of the things thrown at me are really purely ridiculous,” she said in a separate speech.

On Monday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd claimed that Robredo stayed in Lewis’ house in the US.

 But the Vice President slammed Aguirre for lying.

“It’s sad that even our Justice secretary is a part of those lies. He is the Secretary of Justice, so I wish that he won’t say lies because that claim [that I stayed in Lewis’ house]is a lie. I have never talked to her and never saw her in the US,” Robredo said.

She added that the accusations thrown her way had not dampened her resolve to fulfil her mandate.

 “There is a lot of viciousness in the Internet, but I have a mandate to serve. I’d rather focus on my mandate,” Robredo said.

Although the “LeniLeaks” controversy was tackled during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said the issue will be investigated.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the oath-taking of newly-appointed government officials in Malacañang, Esperon added that they are not taking the issue lightly.

“LeniLeaks? We have a Cabinet meeting today, it happens that it will not be one of the matters that will be taken up. It just tells you that we have other more important matters [to discuss],” he said.

“[But] It doesn’t mean also that if we don’t talk about it in the media, we do not give it importance. It is important in the sense that we have to know the veracity of some things, as they affect our stability, Esperon added.

Lewis has already denied concocting a plan to remove Duterte from office. She also clarified that her call for Duterte to quit was based on the President’s promise that he would resign if drugs were still rampant six months after his inauguration in June last year.

But Esperon defended the extension, saying it is immaterial in the overall scheme of things.

“What are their charges? What don’t they want? Sabi nila, one, bakit daw in-extend ng more than three months yung anti-drug campaign [They say, for one, why was the Duterte admnistration’s drug war extended for more than three months]? My golly, if they are from the Americas, wherever North or South or the USA, there are a lot of drug wars, going on in their vicinity. Meaning, neighboring countries at alam naman nilang decades… ang labanan doon tungkol sa droga ay inaabot nang matagalan. So bakit sila mag-aapura ng three months kaagad [They know that fighting drugs take decades. So why are they rushing]?” the security adviser said.

He added that the administration will look into the identity of the bloggers behind the “LeniLeaks.”

“That could be part of the overall work but as I said, this should not be the flavor of the day or the month, this is something that we already know. And the best way to address this is to show that we are effective in anti-drugs, that we could address the problems that they are concerned with,” Esperon said.

Senate President Pro-tempore Franklin Drilon also dismissed the supposed plot against Duterte as “crap.”

 Drilon said Malacañang should not take issues posted in social media seriously.

“This is all crap,” the senator told reporters. “I don’t think we should decide on the basis of what appears in social media. We can get misled.”

The senator said he had not discussed the issue with Robredo but that the alleged plot is farthest from her mind.

 “There is no such thing, I can assure you,” he added. </s> LENI Robredo is making a scene. She is accusing the President and Bongbong Marcos of plotting to steal the vice presidency from her.

She is saying this after she was constructively dismissed from the Cabinet. She resigned after being told

 through text, upon instructions of the President, to desist from attending Cabinet meetings.

There are several angles being floated around on the real reason of her departure from the Cabinet.

There are those who say she was dismissed for being a non-performer. Others point out the irreconcilable differences that she had with the President and her very vocal opposition to his stand on many issues, including the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the war on drugs, the President’s attack on Senator Leila de Lima, and the planned restoration of the death penalty.

Yet, there are also those who floated the intrigue that she was leaking confidential information discussed during Cabinet meetings, and that she refused to cooperate in the investigation of the Yolanda housing anomalies.

 But the most eyebrow-raising is her allegation that there are attempts to steal the vice presidency from her.

She is presenting herself as being the object of political harassment, a target of a sinister plot to oust her as Vice President and replace her with Bongbong Marcos. Her supporters and partymates at the Liberal Party are quick to deploy as a battle cry the hashtag #ProtectLeni and #DefendDemocracy, even as they once again paint the return of the Marcoses to power as the convenient bogeyman.

But it is perhaps important for us to ask Leni Robredo this question: How exactly do you steal the vice presidency?

To allege stealing a position presupposes that it will be through extra-constitutional means.

However, it could never be by a coup, since such usually targets the head of state or government, and not his spare tire. In fact, it is even more plausible for a Vice President from the opposition ranks like Mrs. Robredo, to be the one to plot and steal the presidency, and not the other way around.

The only way Mrs. Robredo can lose her seat is through constitutional means.

She can be unseated through impeachment. However, as of now, there is no ground to impeach her considering that a less than stellar performance at the HUDCC is not an impeachable offense. Her political difference with the President, as long as only expressed but not used to undermine him, does not constitute betrayal of public trust or treason.

She could however lose her seat through an electoral protest.

Bongbong Marcos has filed an electoral protest against her, and the case is now with the Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, or PET. Marcos has alleged massive electoral fraud during the May 2016 elections, where he claimed to have been a victim of a combination of electronic and conventional forms of cheating.

Marcos alleges that the existence of the illegal fourth server, which was admitted even by Smartmatic, together with traditional methods of pre-shading of ballots that allegedly happened in many areas in the ARMM, may have enabled Mrs. Robredo to steal his votes from him.

Evidence suggests statistically improbable zero-votes for all other candidates except for the Liberal Party tandem of Roxas and Robredo in many areas in the country, particularly in the ARMM. There was also a suspiciously high level of under-votes for vice president, leading one to suspect a more sinister electronic tampering of results.

But all of these are allegations that still need to be proven in a proper proceeding. The camp of Bongbong Marcos has already submitted thousands of pages of evidence to back his allegations, and these have yet to be appreciated by the PET. A recount has not yet been ordered, and when commenced, would take a long time in a proceeding which will be open to all parties, and where Mrs. Robredo’s lawyers would be present.

Thus, it is totally irresponsible for Mrs. Robredo to accuse President Duterte, or his allies, working with Bongbong Marcos, to steal the vice presidency. Raising this amounts to a frontal attack on the PET, as it would impugn the integrity of its members, and the whole process.

The camp of Mrs. Robredo has already floated irresponsible allegations in social media. Several days ago, Robredo partisans already made accusations that Governor Imee Marcos had a meeting with two unidentified Supreme Court justices abroad.

Mrs. Robredo has to be reminded that being unseated through an electoral protest is not stealing. On the contrary, it makes her the thief of a post that is not supposed to be hers.

She has to realize that the best way to defend democracy is to stop undermining it by casting aspersions on democratic institutions and processes, and for her to support the recount. Only a recount would tell us if the vice presidency is rightfully hers, or was indeed stolen, not by Bongbong Marcos, but by her.
Vice President Leni Robredo protests President Rodrigo Duterte's remark that her hometown Naga City is a "hotbed of shabu."