Robredo looking at ‘glass half-empty’, focusing on gov’t lapses

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo is “looking at the glass half-empty” and only fixating on the government’s shortcomings in its COVID-19 response “just to score political brownie points” at the expense of the Duterte administration.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque said this Saturday, adding that Robredo’s critical remarks are “baseless” as it is “totally unwarranted.”

“The remarks of the Vice President that the national government is in a state of self-denial or praising its actions are hence baseless,” he said.

“We find it unfortunate that Vice President Ma. Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo, notwithstanding President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call to stop finger-pointing, has once again engaged in nitpicking to criticize the government’s COVID-19 response.”

“We have been as transparent about our lapses as we are about our gains, and as we have said in previous occasions, fighting COVID-19 is a collective effort. It is a whole-of-government approach,” Roque added.

In an interview over CNN Philippines’ “The Source,” Robredo said the government appears to be in a “state of denial” as it continues to praise its COVID-19 efforts despite a number of shortcomings.

“Ito kasi, parang in a state of denial. Mayroong mga magagandang ginawa, pero mayroon ding mga hindi nag-work—mga sinubukan natin pero hindi nag-work,” she said Friday.

(It’s as if they are in a state of denial. There are some things that they did well, but there are some that didn’t work—there are somethings that they tested but didn’t work.)

“Ako sana, kapag hindi nag-work, may acceptance na ‘hindi ito nagwo-work kaya kailangan na natin gawin iyong iba’. Kasi para sa akin, this is the time for us to unite eh. This is the time for us to all work together,” she added.

(For me, if it didn’t work, there should be an acceptance that, ‘This isn’t working so we need to try something else’. Because for me, this is the time for us to unite. This is the time for us to all work together.)

Roque likewise said that the Executive branch has no “monopoly of good ideas and deeds.” He also stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented.

Moreover, Roque, who also serves as spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), said the task force has been “meeting round the clock” to review policies and guidelines for COVID-19 response.

“This is evident in the number of times we have amended the guidelines. The Office of the President, too, has been submitting weekly reports to Congress,” the spokesman said.

“We find the action of the Vice President, which is looking at the glass half-empty – focusing on the shortcomings just to score political brownie points at the expense of the Administration – totally unwarranted,” he added.

In a separate interview over ANC’s “Headstart” on Thursday, Robredo said that Duterte’s weekly report to Congress and his press conferences were not enough.

READ: ‘Kulang kasi’: Robredo wants comprehensive report on Duterte’s use of special powers

“I’ve been really following, reading the Monday reports, Monday press con. Kulang kasi eh. Parang the information being given is not enough (I think it’s insufficient. It’s as if the information given is not enough),” Robredo said in the interview.

In response to this, Roque called on the Vice President to “to simply request” the information she wants from the concerned offices of the executive department.

“Also, I enjoin her not to hesitate in sending her valuable inputs, and I will make sure her concrete ideas will be tabled for discussion in future IATF meetings. This is how we work for the common good,” he added.

KGA