Robredo: Trading barbs with Mocha won’t help Taal victims

Vice President Leni Robredo. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net file

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has refused to reply to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Margaux “Mocha” Uson’s latest tirades, saying answering her “fake” allegations would not do anything to help victims of Taal Volcano’s eruption.

Robredo, however, insisted during an interview with reporters in Camarines Sur on Friday that Uson should not propagate “fake news” especially that her salary comes from taxpayers’ money.

Uson previously shared an unverified article on her Facebook blog, which claimed that Robredo only distributed pan de sal or salted bread to Taal blast victims in Batangas.

“Alam mo, ayaw ko na siyang patulan kasi wala naman siyang silbi sa pagtulong sa mga kababayan natin. Pero kinall out ko lang iyong attention niya kasi nagsisinungaling siya,” Robredo said on the sidelines of her office’s anti-poverty program in Siruma town.

(You know there’s no use replying to her tirades because she’s useless in helping our people. But I called out her attention because she was lying.)

“Sa akin, kung magpapasuweldo ka ng pera ng taumbayan, obligasyon mong hindi ka magsisinungaling. Madali lang naman malaman. Pumunta siya doon sa mga pinuntahan namin; tanungin niya iyong mga binigyan,” she added.

(For me, if you would compensate someone using people’s money, it’s your obligation not to lie. It’s easy to verify. She should go where we went; she should ask those who were given relief.)

Taal Volcano erupted January 12, displacing thousands of families in towns surrounding Taal’s lake.  On Tuesday, January 14, Robredo visited displaced residents staying in Batangas evacuation centers and distributed relief goods.

This is not the first time that Robredo and Uson were engaged in a spat.  In March 2017, the Manila Broadcasting Company – which manages radio station DZRH – suspended Uson’s program after her invective-laden speech against Robredo, where she called the country’s second-highest official stupid, among others.

Edited by KGA

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