VP Leni: Duterte too slow to check inflation, poverty

By Rhaydz B. Barcia LEGAZPI CITY---Vice President Leni Rodredo said President Rodrigo Duterte is too slow and failed to take immediate action to address poverty and high inflation rate in the country. “We wish the President to look into the poverty and high inflation rate early on rather than to focus on [his] feud with Senator Antonio Trillanes,” Rodredo said in an interview here. Rodredo said the current situation between the President and Trillanes will not help the country’s problem on poverty and high inflation that affect the Filipino people, specifically the marginalized sector of our society. The best things to be done according to Rodredo are to focus all the efforts and give more importance on poverty and high prices. “He should be on top of the situation and set direction so that all government agencies will align their efforts,” she said. When asked to assess the President’s action to counter high inflation and poverty in the country, Rodredo said that Duterte is too slow and failed to take action on poverty incidence. “The economic managers are submitting recommendation as basis for an executive order to solve the problems obtaining. For me this is too late which should have been done early on. Ngayon pa lang mag-uusap, ang tagal hinayaan magtagal ang crisis. For me this is too late but still needed for the President to issue an executive order,” she said. She also took note of the conflicting statements made by Duterte’s economic managers and cabinet officials that further created confusion among the people and drove prices to go higher. The Vice President flew in Legazpi City on Friday as keynote speaker of the Sangguniang Barangay Officials Legislative Empowerment Training in Albay’s second congressional district here. During her audience with the barangay officials here, Rodredo pushed to extend the term limit of village officials in order not to make them subservient to elected higher officials in the higher interest of good governance. She said capacity building trainings among barangay officials are important. She said that the Jesse Rodredo Institute of Governance has been set up to assist barangay officials on good governance. After her talk with the barangay officials here, Vice President Leni Rodredo motored to Naga City as keynote speaker of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ regional convention at Villa Caceres Hotel.