Lot swap stays despite Leni’s absence: Tomas

A LAND exchange agreement between Cebu City and Province will not suffer from the resignation as housing secretary of Vice President Leni Robredo, a top official said yesterday.

“We are not dependent on Vice President Leni’s action. Two local government units, dealing with each other, do not require the approval of the Office of the President,” said Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

The mayor, however, said he was saddened by the vice president’s resignation from the Cabinet and concerned about what its effect will be on the housing proj-

ects she had planned for Cebu.

Vice President Robredo submitted yesterday her letter of resignation from the Cabinet, after being texted over the weekend by a presidential adviser that President Rodrigo Duterte wanted her to stop attending Cabinet meetings, starting yesterday.

According to Osmeña, he was “delighted” when Duterte persuaded the vice president to accept a Cabinet appointment, because Robredo is known for her compassion toward the urban poor.

The mayor, however, said he understands her decision, saying it would be impolite to disobey Duterte’s order to “desist from cabinet meetings starting this Monday, Dec. 5.”

What’s deserved

The land exchange agreement between the City and Province was a campaign promise made by Osmeña and reelected Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.

It had first been brought up in 2006, when Osmeña was also mayor, but has been stalled since then. The City plans to give the Capitol prime properties in exchange for lots in several barangays that are occupied by an estimated 5,000 Cebu City constituents.

These lots were declared as socialized housing sites back in 1993, under a Capitol ordinance approved while lawyer Vicente de la Serna was governor. Despite several grace periods when Pablo Garcia and his daughter Gwendolyn each served three terms as governor, not all the occupants have managed to pay in full for their lots.

Robredo had promised to help with the exchange.

In her resignation letter yesterday, she mentioned that she had exerted all efforts to set aside differences, maintain a professional relationship and to work effectively despite constraints “because the Filipino people deserve no less.”

In an address to the nation yesterday afternoon, Vice President Robredo reiterated that the directive for her to stay away from all Cabinet meetings has made it impossible for her to do her job as housing secretary and head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Justice

The vice president emphasized that her loyalty to the Constitution and to the Filipino people is paramount.

“This means that I have to be able to speak my mind to protect you and your dreams and your future,” she said.

Vice President Robredo further said that the interests of the people can only be served by a government that is willing to listen to views other than its own, even when these views go against the prevailing views.

“Ang tunay na hustisya’y walang kinikilala, mayaman man o mahirap, nasa poder man o walang impluwensiya. Higit sa lahat, buong tapang tayong magmamatyag at magbabantay nang hindi na magbalik pa ang anumang diktadurya, na siyang kumitil sa libulibong buhay noong rehimeng Marcos (True justice is for everyone, rich or poor, those in power and those with no influence. Above all, we will remain vigilant and fight any attempts to restore the dictatorship that ended thousands of lives during the Marcos regime),” she said.

President Duterte has received criticism for ordering the burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whose son and namesake Bongbong lost to Robredo in the May 2016 elections.

“We have fought this battle before—and won. We will never let anyone revise our history and twist it to turn evil into good. Hindi natin hahayaang nakawin ang PagkaBise Presidente, sapagkat iyon ay taliwas sa boses ng nakararami (We will not allow anyone to seal the vice presidency, because that would violate the voice of the majority),” she said.

No answer

She said that she had tried to clarify the situation with the President’s special assistant Christopher “Bong” Go, who usually responded to her calls and texts, but this time declined to reply.

Her staff had said that the agenda had been sent to her so she was in disbelief and made several attempts to clarify with Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco.

She had asked that the matter be put in writing, but was refused. Evasco eventually texted her to “desist from attending Cabinet meetings until further notice.”

Vice President Robredo said that her stint as housing secretary has given her insights into the problems plaguing the housing sector, and that she identifies that some government rules and regulations were slowing down progress in housing.

The vice president maintained, however, that she will support what is worth supporting, even as she continues to oppose extrajudicial killings, the death penalty, lowering the age of criminal liability, and the dictator’s burial in the heroes’ cemetery.

“My mandate comes from the people not from the president,” she said.