Duterte Robredo composite

President Rodrigo Duterte believes Vice President Leni Robredo only wants to make a show when she raised concerns regarding her stint as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Monday.

"Let me quote the President, the President said last night to me 'She was just grandstanding.' She could've just come to Malacañang, everybody goes to Malacañang," Panelo said in an interview on ANC.

"The President described VP Leni with so many adjectives. It's only one of them," he added.

Last week, Robredo refused to be briefed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on classified information because she has pending clarifications on the scope of her mandate from the President.

Panelo noted that Robredo should've just spoken directly to Duterte regarding her concerns.

"It's not the President that's going to you, it's the appointee going to the appointing power. But she never did. She only did that after the President has already made some remark," Panelo said.

Duterte fired Robredo from her ICAD post on Sunday.

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Panelo said that Robredo "had it coming" due to the missteps she took when she talked to foreign entities and her "dare" for the President to strip her of the position.

"It's not surprising. She was given the opportunity to assist in the program but she blew it," he said.

Further, Panelo said that instead of "grandstanding," Robredo should've approached the masses when she was the co-chair of ICAD.

"She should've gone to the grassroots, she should've gone to the communities, talked with the people, know their problems on drugs," he said.

In less than 20 days as ICAD co-chair, among Robredo's activities included meeting with the inter-agency body members as she enjoined them to stop senseless killings; discussing with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Community-Based Drug Rehab Alliance (COBRA) on how to improve community-based rehabilitation centers in the country; and visiting Navotas City to urge the community to cooperate with the government in solving the drug problem in their area. —Dona Magsino/KBK, GMA News