Duterte says Cabinet post for Leni to hurt alliance with Bongbong

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is unlikely to let Vice President-elect Leni Robredo join his Cabinet since the move might hurt defeated vice presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. At a televised news conference on Tuesday night, Duterte said he is politically allied with Marcos and his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

He also accused Robredo's group, the Liberal Party, of launching black propaganda against him.

Asked what role Robredo will play in his government, Duterte said he is "non-committal" about it. "You know why? Kilala ko si Bongbong Marcos. I do not want to hurt him. Si Leni, she should understand that she belongs to the opposite side. There is no law that says (there is) a compelling reason for her to be a member of the Cabinet," Duterte said. He said his father was a close ally of late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos, and the alliance extended to his own career in government.

"Ngayon itong si Bongbong, pati si Mrs. Marcos, alam ko talaga Duterte 'yan, no doubt about it. Ako na ang nakaalam no'n, na there is a certain bond between me and Bongbong," Duterte said. He said appointing Robredo would not be the reconciliatory move he vowed to make with rivals.

"It need not come from an appointment for sure, that is silly," he said. "Wala pa namang reconciliation kasi hindi naman kami nag-away," the incoming leader added. He also noted that he was the presidential choice of a majority of voters in Ilocos, the home province of the Marcos family. In Bicol, the bailiwick of Robredo, Duterte said he did "poorly" in the last elections. While votes were telling, Duterte insisted that his unlikely decision to include Robredo in his roster of Cabinet officials is about political loyalties.

(THE PHILIPPINE STAR)