OVP distances itself from scathing Mindanao quake remarks

MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has clarified that it is not in any way connected with Yoly Ong, who made distasteful tweets about the recent Mindanao earthquakes and Duterte administration supporters.

OVP spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said on Tuesday that Vice President Leni Robredo herself was not in favor of Ong’s choice of words in her now-deleted tweets, supposedly posted last Sunday.

Ong, a marketing and communications expert, said that the DDS — Duterte Diehard Supporters — who are in Mindanao are being swallowed by the land after a series of earthquakes in the region.

The scathing tweets were pointed out by Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mon Cualoping in a Facebook post.

“The VP already replied via direct message to ASec Cualoping stating that 1) Ms. Ong has never been employed at the OVP; 2) The VP is totally not in favor of the indicated post on the Mindanao earthquake,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

He also said that the OVP was prompted to issue a statement because some sectors are allegedly using this opportunity to launch a smear campaign against Robredo.

“She (Robredo) replied directly to ASec Cualoping, and not in a public post, precisely because she did not want the tragedy that has affected so many of our fellow Filipinos to be further politicized.  It is apparent, however, that some quarters are determined to use this to attack VP Leni, even as the OVP is engaged in efforts to provide assistance to those displaced by the earthquakes,” Gutierrez said.

Cualoping said in his post that searching for Ong’s name on the internet showed that she is involved in Robredo’s marketing communication campaigns.

“We, from Davao and Mindanao, feel the pain caused by the words of Yoly Villanueva Ong. We are all Filipinos, politics aside.  Ms. Ong, based on Google search, says that she represents your marketing communications campaigns,” Cualoping said.

“May it be Naga or Davao, we are not shielded from calamities. In unfortunate times, humanity must prevail.  Thank you. And all the best, Madam VP,” he added.

https://www.facebook.com/633132170/posts/10157765920022171?d=n&sfns=mo

Ong meanwhile explained in another tweet that she only meant to ‘jolt the DDS into awakening’ about their support of President Rodrigo Duterte.

She also insisted that she is not a part of OVP and apologized to Robredo for being dragged into the mess.

“May I clarify that I have NEVER been part of the OVP.  Apologies to VPL (VP Leni).  It was not my intention to hurt the Mindanaoans. My tweet was directed ONLY at DDS (Duterte Diehard Supporters) not at ALL Davaoeños,” Ong said.

I deleted my Davao disaster tweet even if the intention was clearly to jolt the DDS into an awakening. My Davao friends did not feel alluded to at all. Anyway, to avoid anymore sensitivity…

— Yoly Villanueva-Ong (@yolyong) November 1, 2019

May I clarify that I have NEVER been part of the OVP. Apologies to VPL.
It was not my intention to hurt the Mindanaoans. My tweet was directed ONLY at DDS (Duterte Diehard Supporters)not at ALL Davaoeños. The intention was to make them think about the malice they do.. like now. pic.twitter.com/OOfKm5qI1E

— Yoly Villanueva-Ong (@yolyong) November 4, 2019

Gutierrez urged parties to end the issue and instead focus on helping quake-stricken residents of Mindanao. /gsg