ROGUE STANCE
VICE President Sara Duterte should toe the line when it comes to all the policies of the administration as a member of the Cabinet of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. instead of publicly opposing his decisions.
This was the statement made by former Sen. Leila De Lima in response to Duterte’s contrary views on the policies of President Marcos such as the decision to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the move to restart the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
“All cabinet secretaries are alter egos of the President. An alter ego cannot have a different mind than the President. Kaya nga alter ego. Otherwise, separate ego na ‘yun kung palagi ka na lang nag-o-oppose sa principal mo,” De Lima, jailed under Duterte’s father’s term for trumped up charges, said.
“Maybe she is voicing contrary policy statements because she thinks it’s her role as VP. As VP she can do that. But she must not forget that she is still a Cabinet secretary bound to alter ego principle in the executive branch,” she added.
She then reiterated her call for Duterte to step down as Education Secretary if she continues to publicly oppose President Marcos.
“Let me further elucidate – This is nothing new. In all governments in the world, a Cabinet minister is only expected to resign as such once s/he voices out different policies than the cabinet publicly,” De Lima said.
“As a matter of principle, no cabinet minister in the world can do that without being challenged by the Cabinet to stop singing a divergent tune. Kung sintunado ka, paalisin ka sa choir,” she continued.
“If she wants to keep voicing contrary policy positions to the cabinet, she should be shorn of her alter ego role first. She cannot eat her cake and keep it too,” De Lima said.
