Palace: To ask #NasaanAngPangulo is ok, but it was done with ‘malice’

MANILA, Philippines — There was nothing wrong with critics asking for the whereabouts of President Rodrigo Duterte, who was conspicuously absent during a critical briefing on Super Typhoon Rolly, except that it was done with “malice,” Malacañang said Tuesday.

The President was in his hometown Davao City when Rolly, considered the world’s strongest tropical cyclone so far this year, ravaged the Bicol region and Southern Luzon.

Duterte had already hit back at critics over the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo, explaining he was waiting for the typhoon to pass before flying back to Manila.

“Now siguro nairita si Presidente, ano ba ang gusto ng mga kritiko niya na lalabas siya sa kalye habang bumabagyo? That’s pointless po. Dahil nagawa na po ni Presidente ang dapat gawin, handa po ang lahat ng departamento at ahensya ng gobyerno,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.

(Maybe the President got annoyed, what do critics want? For him to stand on the street while there is a typhoon? That’s pointless because the President already did what needed to be done. All government agencies were already prepared at the time.)

“I guess there’s nothing wrong with that pero alam niyo naman po may malice na pagtanong niyan. Dahil ‘yung mga kritiko na kahit anong gawin ni Presidente, hindi po, walang nakikitang mabuti sa ginagawa ni Presidente,” he added, when asked if it was wrong to ask for the President’s whereabouts.

(I guess there’s nothing wrong with that but there was malice in asking that. Because critics do not see any good in whatever the President does.)

After public backlash for not being in sight while Rolly smacked areas of Luzon, Duterte on Monday conducted an aerial survey over the Bicol region to check on the severity of the super typhoon’s impact.

The President also held a situation briefing Monday night with key government officials in Malacañang.

KGA