VICE President Maria Leonor 'Leni' Robredo is not obligated to attend the monthly Cabinet meetings unless the illegal drugs campaign will be part of the agenda, Malacañang said on Thursday.Robredo's position as drug czar carries a Cabinet rank.Speaking to reporters, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said that it was optional for all Cabinet members to attend the meeting depending on the topics that would be presented.'When we have a Cabinet meeting, we are invited by the Cabinet Secretary, and we are asked if we are going or not. In other words, it is optional for us to attend because if it’s not your topic there, you’ll have to stay there for the rest of the meeting until the wee hours of the morning,' Panelo said during a press conference.'Kung hindi ka naman kasama doon sa agenda mas masaya siguro kung hindi ka na aattend (If you are not included on the agenda, you should be happy because you will no longer be attending) . Kaya that’s why I said you should be thankful. Pupunta ka lang kung topic mo (You will only attend if it's your topic),' he added.Panelo also said even if Robredo would not attend Cabinet meetings, as a member, she could still express her comments on issues discussed through statements or memoranda.'It doesn't mean that if you are not in the Cabinet meeting you cannot comment because there is a transcript for that and that is given to all members of the Cabinet. So if you feel like commenting on any topic you can do that,' he said.'Mag-issue ka ng statement o gumawa ka ng (You should issue or make a) memorandum addressed whomsoever you want ,' the Palace official added.Panelo made the statement after Sen. Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go revealed that Robredo may only be invited to the Cabinet meeting if the agenda would include the drug war.But for now, Go has not heard about any plan to ask Robredo, the new co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, to join the meeting with President Rpdrigo Duterte and the Cabinet in Malacañang.'Wala pa. Hindi pa sila nagka-usap at sa gabinete naman, wala pa akong naririnig (None yet. They have not talked. I haven’t heard anything about the Cabinet meeting),' Go said in a chance interview, when asked if the President has invited Robredo to a meeting.'Pero sa pagkaalam ko parang wala pa plano na papatawag at isasama sa gabinete. Maybe kung pag-uusapan na yung droga pero wala naman sa agenda, nothing to do with drugs, ay hindi po (For what I know, there is no plan yet to call her to join the Cabinet meeting. Maybe if the anti-drugs will be discussed. But if it is not on the agenda, it has nothing to do with drugs, no),' he added.Duterte and Robredo have not met since the Vice President was appointed as co-chairman of the ICAD.Robredo has accepted the post and vowed to push for an end to the 'senseless killings' in the drug war.She also raised the possibility of scrapping Oplan Tokhang associated with drug-related killings, insisting that anti-drug efforts must be within the bounds of the law.The Palace has repeatedly said that Robredo should be given the chance to do her job as ICAD co-chairman.The Vice President has long been a vocal critic of the administration’s anti-illegal drug operations, which— according to government data— have resulted in the killing of at least 6,600 people since Duterte took office in 2016.Robredo will be serving as ICAD co-chairman until the end of the administration’s term on June 30, 2022, unless sooner revoked by Duterte.The committee, composed of several government agencies, is assigned to ensue the integrated and synchronized implementation of governments anti-drug campaign.
