Vice President Leni Robredo has “turned down” an invitation to the Miss Universe coronation on Monday, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo confirmed Sunday, following conflicting reports on whether an invite was given to the country’s second highest official.
Robredo said Friday she will not attend the pageant on Monday since she was not invited.
Teo denied Robredo’s claim the following day, saying the invitation for the Vice President was only delayed since they wanted to give her VIP tickets, but only lower box tickets were immediately on hand.
She said Robredo will be given 2 VIP tickets worth P50,000 each on Saturday.
But speaking to radio DZMM on Sunday, Teo confirmed that Robredo’s office has sent word that she will no longer attend the pageant.
“Tinurn down niya. Hindi raw makakapunta, iyun lang ang sinabi,” Teo said.
(She turned down the invitation. She will not be able to attend, that’s all they said.)
The Tourism chief also reiterated that the vice president was one of the first officials she thought of inviting.
“Ininvite namin pero nag-bail out siya. Actually, nagkagulo pa iyan kasi sabi niya, hindi siya inimbita,” she said.
“Sabi ko, honestly, siya iyung unang-una ko noong ini-list down kung sino iyung mga invited. Ang Vice [President] talaga ang una kong kinonsider.“
(We invited her but she bailed out. Actually, there has been some confusion over that issue because she said she was not invited. I said, honestly, she was among of the first officials I listed down in the invitation list. The Vice President was the first one I considered.)
President Duterte, meanwhile, was given special seats for the coronation, but has yet to confirm his attendance, Teo mentioned.
“Ininvite namin, binigyan namin ng ticket pero walang advise. Alam mo naman si Presidente, last minute mag-decide lang,” she said.
(We invited the President, gave him tickets but there is no advise yet on whether he will attend. You know our President, he decides on the last minute.)
Pageant organizers, Teo said, also invited all Cabinet officials, ambassadors and senators.
Watch the 65th Miss Universe coronation live on ABS-CBN Channel 2 on January 30, 2017 Monday 8 a.m. (Manila time)
This story first appeared on ABS-CBN News Online and republished with permission.
