MANILA, Philippines — “Kailangan ba dun personal appearance o puwedeng Zoom? Dami pa kasing trabaho.”
(Is personal appearance required or a Zoom videocall will do? I still have a lot of work to do.)
Vice President Leni Robredo said this Thursday after a Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) official asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate her actions which supposedly “compete with” the government’s COVID-19 crisis initiatives.
In a tweet, Robredo cited the complaints she faced under the Duterte administration.
“Ngayon, ang gusto NBI investigation,” Robredo wrote in her post, which shows an image of the Vice President flipping her hair.
Una, electoral protest. Sunod, impeachment complaint, sedition case, indirect contempt. Ngayon, ang gusto NBI investigation. Kailangan ba du'n personal appearance o puwedeng Zoom? Dami pa kasing trabaho😇 pic.twitter.com/MGUoa0ofWF
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) April 2, 2020
PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna earlier said Robredo’s actions “compete with, or calculated to undermine” the national government efforts in this time of the public health emergency.
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has so far raised at least P36 million for the procurement of PPEs for health workers. It also launched free shuttle service and free dormitories for health workers affected by the Luzon-wide quarantine.
PACC’s move comes as the administration received fierce criticism for President Duterte’s “shoot to kill” order against unruly Luzon quarantine violators.
In a separate statement, another PACC commissioner, Greco Belgica, said that Luna’s statement does not reflect the anti-corruption body’s sentiment.
“It was a PERSONAL opinion and request made by one of the Commissioners of PACC that DOES NOT reflect the sentiments of the Commission,” Belgica said.
“This is not the time for politicking. We are not concerned with any personality. Our main concern is to make sure all the needy Filipinos get all the help they need the President promised. Our concern is to end this COVID-19 virus,” he added.