Looking for me? Duterte tells critics: I hope God forgives you

President Rodrigo Duterte during an address. SCREENGRAB

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he hopes God forgives his critics after the #NasaanAngPangulo topic dominated Twitter during the threat of Typhoon Ulysses, internationally known as Vamco.

“Iyong nagsasabi kung nasaan kami, susmaryosep, patawarin sana kayo ng Diyos. We were working, We were here. There was a summit going on while the typhoon was passing by,” Duterte said in a short video message aired at state media.

(To those asking where we were, I hope God forgives you.)

“Sabi ko kapag dumaan ang typhoon, take off tayo. Gusto ko lumabas ng typhoon, ano magawa ko? The winds were howling, there was flooding there was nobody as yet on the ground, doing whatever cleaning,” he went on.

(I said if the typhoon goes here, let’s take off. I want to get out but what can I do?)

Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque previously told netizens to stop asking the President’s whereabouts during the typhoon, which already killed over 39 people in Luzon. Roque said Duterte is “always with us.”

The hashtag topped Twitter’s trending topic while the Typhoon destroyed homes and left eople missing. During this time, the President was attending the 37th Asean Summit on Thursday.

#NasaanAngPangulo first became a trend earlier this month after Duterte skipped the public briefing on Super Typhoon Rolly that also battered most areas in Luzon, especially the Bicol Region.

CFC