MANILA – The firing of Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs was not meant to divert attention from the issues hounding the Philippines’ hosting of this year’s 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which will start this Saturday.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo claimed Robredo’s dismissal was due to her “failure” to present before Duterte clear plans and programs to combat the illegal drug trade in the country.
Robredo, the leader of the opposition, was dismissed as co-chair of the Interagency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs or ICAD last Sunday, the same day SEA Games organizers drew flak for the transportation, hotel accommodation and food woes encountered by football teams from Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
Amid complaints from foreign delegates, Panelo vowed that the organizing committee will do everything to improve pull off the country’s SEA games hosting.
“We can no longer undo what has been done. The Office of the President will not offer any excuses. As host country, we apologize for the unintentional inconvenience suffered by our athlete-guests,” Panelo said.
This was the first time the Philippines is hosting the biennial tournament since 2005, where the country last won the SEA Games overall championship./PN
