By Raymundo Antonio
After the repeated attacks against her, Vice President and opposition leader Ma. Leonor "Leni" Robredo believes there are currently “active efforts” to remove her from office.
Vice President Leni Robredo
(Juan Carlo de Vela / MANILA BULLETIN)
Robredo didn’t mince words in accusing political rivals allied with the administration of plotting her ouster.
“My opponent in the last elections has been claiming he’s the rightful vice president. There’s a pending case—as I’ve said—there’s a pending protest case before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal,” she said.
Robredo is facing an electoral protest filed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before the PET over allegations of poll fraud in the 2016 elections. She defeated Marcos by just 263,473 votes.
She has also claimed to be the subject of criticisms and fake news online since she was elected as the country’s second top official three years ago.
Robredo warned of an alleged plot to unseat her from the vice presidency in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
The Vice President, who is also a former housing chief, noted many people close to President Rodrigo Duterte have been vocal about their intention to seek her ouster.
“There are a lot of people, who are identified with the administration who have made no qualms about saying that they would hope that I would be unseated or they would hope that I be booted out of office,” she said.
That being said, Robredo, however, did not implicate Duterte in the ouster plot against her.
“So if the question is are there groups who are actively seeking for my ouster? There are. But I think, there’s no… there’s no proof that the President is behind these efforts,” she said.
Asked about the opposition Liberal Party, of which she is chair, Robredo underscored that her political party needs “calibrating” in the remainder of her term.
“The first three years was mostly a time to reflect on what happened. And then the midterm elections happened. When the midterm elections happened, it was a time to understand and to, you know, humble ourselves and realize that perhaps, many of the things we are doing are not responsive to what the people need,” she said.
The LP had fielded eights candidates for the senatorial race, which included former senators Bam Aquino and Mar Roxas, but they all lost to the administration-backed candidates.
“Because if the results of the midterm elections are to be the gauge— is true that the President is very popular—but the complete shutoff also is, I think, a wake-up call to understand what are we not doing right,” Robredo said.