LAMENT VS SARA
De Lima: VP Duterte acting like a ‘president-in-waiting’
FORMER Senator Leila De Lima chided Vice President Sara Duterte for acting like a “president-in-waiting” by publicly issuing statements that contradict and even criticize the decisions of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
This sense of entitlement of Duterte is misplaced, said De Lima, who said that as Education Secretary and a member of the Marcos Cabinet, she has no business speaking her mind and her contrary beliefs that are against President Marcos’ actions.
“The problem with VP is her mindset that she is a president-in-waiting or worse, a co-president entitled to oppose the President in his own Cabinet. She cannot do that,” De Lima said.
“No self-respecting Cabinet in the world will tolerate a rogue minister who publicly challenges executive/cabinet policy. That is a given,” she added.
Duterte has publicly opposed President Marcos Jr.’s decision to re-enter the International Criminal Court (ICC) that is investigating the bloody drug war of her father.
She also criticized President Marcos’ decision to re-initiate the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), describing it as a “deal with the devil.”
“My observation is not personal to Sara. It is just the way how Cabinets all over the world work. You sing out of tune, you either get out or are kicked out,” De Lima said.
Duterte’s criticism of the peace talks has also irked Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Rep. France Castro, who described the vice president as a “peace saboteur.”
“Duterte and the peace saboteurs that she represents just want war and the funds that come with it, which is why they are vehemently against peace negotiations. It is essential to uphold the spirit of peace and pursue dialogue for the benefit of the Filipino people,” Castro said.
“It is alarming that the Vice President has labeled the government’s recent statement with the NDF in Oslo as an ‘agreement with the devil’ and has expressed opposition to the grant of amnesty to former rebels. These statements reflect a lack of understanding of the complexities of the peace process and a disregard for the aspirations of the Filipino people for just and lasting peace,” she added.
