Manila: Philippines Vice-President Leni Robredo said she will resign as housing secretary on Monday after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered her to stop attending cabinet meetings, a development that could galvanise opposition to Mr Duterte.
Ms Robredo, who was not on a ticket with Mr Duterte during the May elections, will remain vice-president, a position that's is elected separately from the president. The two are from rival political parties.
Ms Robredo said she received a text message from Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco relaying the president's instruction.
Not attending cabinet meetings would make it impossible for her to perform her duties as head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, she said in a statement on her website.
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"From the very beginning, the president and I had major differences in principles and values," Ms Robredo said.
She had expressed concern over rising extra-judicial killings related to Duterte's war on drugs and had opposed the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Graveyard, which Mr Duterte endorsed. Thousands joined the protests against the former dictator's burial last month.
The former dictator's son, Bongbong Marcos, lost to Ms Robredo in the vice-presidential race in May. He filed an election protest and asked the Supreme Court to void Ms Robredo's proclamation as victor.
Ms Robredo's resignation could signal a period of struggle is looming, with Mr Duterte drawing a "clear divide" between the administration and its members, according to Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute of Political and Electoral Reform in Quezon City.
"The president is trying to consolidate his own forces, anticipating a political struggle," Mr Casiple said. "He drew the line, and I think he's trying to force the hand of a relatively weak opposition."
Mr Duterte may have wasted the opportunity for national unity with his decision to exclude Ms Robredo from cabinet meetings, he said.
Ms Robredo said in her statement that she had chosen to ignore warnings of a "plot to steal" the vice-presidency, "but the events of recent days indicate that this plot is now being set into motion. I will not allow the will of the people to be thwarted."
"Irreconcilable differences" between the nation's top leaders led to Ms Robredo's resignation, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in an interview with DZBB radio.
Bloomberg