The militant Akbayan said it supports the decision of Vice President Leni Robredo to resign from the Duterte Cabinet.
Robredo has tendered her resignation today, December 5, as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) citing “major differences” with President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement, Akbayan said Robredo’s “marginalization within the Duterte cabinet, and the disrespect that came with it, does not diminish Leni Robredo. But it does a great disservice to the millions of low-income households living in danger zones and waterways.”
Duterte did not give Robredo the chance to fulfill her duties and in the process disregarded the welfare of the poor homeless people, according to Akbayan. “Ibinasura ng Duterte administration ang kapakanan ng mahihirap na walang sariling bahay, nang hindi nito bigyan ng pagkakataon si VP Robredo na gampanan ang kaniyang trabaho.”
Akbayan noted the move to bar Robredo from attending Cabinet meetings proved there were moves to unseat Robredo. “Barring Robredo from Cabinet meetings is only the latest sign that behind the scene machinations to steal the Vice-Presidency from her may be gaining ground.”
Akabayan said the “legitimacy of the Vice-President is not in doubt. Her mandate must be protected. The OVP was the only symbol that this administration was invested in reforms and interested in reaching out to those outside its ambit of unsavory allies. The OVP must be protected from the machinations of the insidious.”
Robredo has openly criticized the Duterte administration for having allowed the hero’s burial of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). She has described the hasty burial of the late president Marcos “like a thief in the night.”
“Marcos as a hero is an embarassment to an administration that against all moral and legal logic has defended and pursued in order to fulfill a personal campaign promise to a financier,” said Akbayan.
The group said Robredo is a “champion of good local governance.”
“The battle now expands from the Libingan ng mga Bayani to the OVP. And we must not relent.”