Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy criticized Vice President Leni Robredo following the latter’s publication of her drug war report from her short-lived task of being anti-drug czar but the PCOO executive had once supported her.
Badoy in a series of Facebook posts lambasted the second-highest official of the land when Robredo held a press conference on Tuesday, January 6 and presented her suggestions to improve the administrations’ campaign against narcotics.
The vice president in her speech called for a halt of “Oplan Tokhang” or the house-to-house “knock and plead” operation led by policemen against suspected personalities.
She also said that the administration needed to focus on bigtime drug lords and not on street-level pushers and abusers, citing that only 1% of the “shabu” or crystal meth have been recovered by authorities from 2017 to 2018.
Robredo also suggested that the Dangerous Drugs Board should spearhead the ICAD or the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs. She argued that the board, traditionally tasked to craft drug-related policies, is more in the position and has a better ability to draft programs against narcotics.
Badoy responded to Robredo in a series of Facebook posts lashing out at the vice president and urging her to “resign.” Badoy also accused Robredo of being “incompetent” for supposedly obstructing the government’s drug war.
“The most stupid, the most lazy, the most incompetent vice president this country has ever had, the one who’s done NOTHING but obstruct all honest and effective efforts of this government to rebuild our country has the gall to call the collective effort of government to end the drug scourge—that 8 out of 10 Filipinos approve of—a FAILURE,” she wrote.
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Badoy has been a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte and has previously accused Robredo of being a “fake news” purveyor, among others.
In 2016, Badoy bullied Jillian Robredo, who was a minor at that time, for calling her mom, Leni, her personal hero.
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Before Badoy became a PCOO executive, she figured in a controversy where she slammed the European Union, saying that the latter should just engage in child pornography instead of allegedly destabilizing the Duterte administration.
Pre-Duterte days
Amid Badoy’s incessant attacks, she was once a supporter of Robredo during the 2016 elections who even joined the “Women for Leni” campaign.
“Women for VP Leni is right. Lorraine used to make a lot of sense. What happened to this woman?” a Twitter user asked.
The “Women for Leni” campaign is a movement supporting Robredo since 2015 which has shared advocacies in women’s economic empowerment and women’s rights.
It previously gathered statements from women of different sectors in a bid to show support for Robredo who is the sole female candidate in the position of the vice presidency in 2016.
Badoy, who was referenced as a “writer, doctor and human rights advocate” by the movement, described Robredo as a “true public servant.”
Based on her testimony, it appeared as if she had followed the vice president even before the latter became a public official.
"Long before she got into politics, Leni fought for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden by giving them free legal…
Posted by Women for Leni on Monday, March 28, 2016
“Long before she got into politics, Leni fought for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden by giving them free legal aid for years. Quietly,” Badoy said.
“She didn’t need to be paid nor did she need public applause to do what was right and fair for the poor. That, to me, speaks volumes about her. A true public servant. Someone who has never stolen, never betrayed the public she swore to serve,” she continued.
Badoy also lauded Robredo’s congressional career as the former representative of Camarines Sur’s Third District.
“As congresswoman, she has crafted laws that have made the lives of millions of millions of Filipinos better, safer, more dignified. I trust her to take our country to higher ground as Vice President,” she continued.
Gang Badoy, the PCOO executive’s half-sister, previously admitted that she had found the latter’s change of heart toward Robredo “strange.”
“I wonder what the vice president did or is to her to merit her constant disdain? Mere politics? It can’t be personal, I don’t think they ever met,” Gang said before.
“Except when she campaigned or endorsed for Leni with a formal portrait under ‘Women for Leni.’ I am not even part of this Women for Leni campaign. I don’t even have that formal portrait thing going, hindi ako kasama doon, siya oo. Ang strange,” she added.
When Lorraine’s recent Facebook posts against Robredo caught the public’s attention, Gang tweeted, “Hoboy. Here we go again. Sorry, ancestors.”
