Ditch #NasaanAngPangulo, Duterte always with us — Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte addressing the nation regarding the government response to typhoon Ulysses. INQUIRER RADYO / RTVM

MANILA, Philippines — Critics need not ask for the whereabouts of President Rodrigo Duterte in times of crisis and calamities as he always monitors the situation on the ground, Malacañang said Friday.

“Hindi po dapat tanungin nasaan ang Pangulo, yan po ay kalokohan lang ng oposisyon. Ang Presidente po ay hindi nawawala, lagi po natin siyang kapiling,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a briefing on the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses.

(They should not ask where the President is, that’s just the opposition’s nonsense. The President is never away, he’s always with us.)

“Lagi po niyang iniisip ang kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan. Oposisyon, itigil niyo na po yan,” he added.

(He never stops thinking about the welfare of the people. The opposition should stop it.)

Roque noted that with the help of technology, the President is able to monitor the situation on the ground when calamities strike.

“Ang importante, lagi pong nandyan ang Pangulo na laging pong nagsasabi at pinaaalahanan ang lahat ng ahensya at departamento ng gobyerno na gawin ang lahat para matulungan po ang mga kababayan nating nangangailangan,” Roque said.

(What’s important is that the President is there to remind all government agencies to give it their all to help our countrymen in need.)

Asked why the President is not presiding over the meeting with key government officials, Roque said Duterte has to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and perform his role as the chief architect of the country’s foreign policy.

Duterte himself responded to critics questioning his supposed inaction as Typhoon Ulysses battered Metro Manila and parts of Luzon on Thursday.

“Wala kaming tulog dito,” Duterte said.

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