President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-corruption commission is urging the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe Vice President Leni Robredo for allegedly competing against the government’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
Manuelito Luna, the commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), alleged that the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) projects, such as providing free bus rides for health workers and donating protective gear to hospitals, were being done to “undermine” the work of the Departments of Health and Social Welfare and Development, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Philippine Star reports.
“The National Bureau of Investigation should investigate Vice-President Leni Robredo for illegal solicitations, actions that compete with, or calculated to undermine, national government efforts in this time of public health emergency or national calamities, such as OVP’s free shuttle service and dormitories for health workers, and PPEs for health workers,” Luna said in a statement sent to The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Luna added that Robredo’s actions might be in violation of existing laws as well as the protocols established by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the government agency tasked to lead the campaign against COVID-19.
The PACC was established by Duterte in 2017 as part of his campaign to eradicate corruption in government and “promote a high standard of ethics in public service.”
Robredo has been lauded for helping hospitals all over the country and has raised as much as PHP40.3 million (US$792,128) which has been used to purchase medical equipment and food that were distributed to frontliners such as doctors, nurses, janitors, and security guards. Shortly after Luna’s statement went public, the hashtag #ProtectLeni went trending on Twitter, with most netizens lambasting the PACC for its decision.
Mr. Luna, VP @lenirobredo is not at all COMPETING w/ any agency of the gov’t! In fact, she’s just doing what the govt SHOULD BE DOING. She is SERVING FILIPINOS, for goodness sake!
She is even doing you a favor for being the only hope in the govt!#ProtectLeni #OUSTDUTERTENOW https://t.co/DAXP0llHZ6— Ricklyodeon #OUSTDUTERTENOW (@RICKLYNdle) April 2, 2020
Wrote @RICKLYNdle, Mr. Luna, “VP @lenirobredo is not at all COMPETING w/ any agency of the gov’t! In fact, she’s just doing what the govt SHOULD BE DOING. She is SERVING FILIPINOS, for goodness sake!”
Robredo and Duterte are far from being allies, thanks to the vice president’s vocal criticism of the latter’s bloody drug war. At one point, Duterte became so annoyed at Robredo’s opinions that he made her the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, only to fire her three weeks later.
It was just yesterday when the NBI “invited” Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto for questioning for allegedly violating the Bayanihan [Camaraderie] as One Act of 2020, a law which gives Duterte additional powers to supposedly protect Filipinos against COVID-19.
