MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte should stop being onion-skinned to criticisms, Vice President Leni Robredo said Wednesday after the chief executive launched scathing remarks against her in a public address.
Duterte called Robredo a liar for supposedly questioning his absence during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses. Robredo did not issue such remarks.
READ: Helping during a calamity is not a contest, Robredo tells Duterte
“Kung naalala niyo, kahit iyong time ni P-Noy [President Noynoy Aquino], ginagamit na iyong hashtag na iyon,” Robredo said in a chance interview aired over her Facebook page.
(If you remember, even during the time of President Aquino, the same hashtag was used.)
The Vice President was referring to the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo which became a trending topic when Duterte skipped the briefing of government officials on Super Typhoon Rolly.
The hashtag topped Twitter Philippines’ trending topics anew when Typhoon Ulysses devastated parts of the country.
“Pero iyong para sa akin, dapat kasi hindi tayo balat-sibuyas sa ganiyan kasi traditionally naman kung sino iyong nakaupo, marami talagang reklamo iyong tao. Pero sa atin, hindi dapat siya nagiging dahilan para mag-away-away lalo na sa panahon na dapat nagtutulong-tulongan,” Robredo said.
(For me, we shouldn’t be onion-skinned about these things because traditionally, people have complaints about whoever is seated as President. For us, it should not be a reason to fight especially during a time when we should be helping each other.)
‘Duterte fed with false info’
Sought to comment on Duterte’s threat that he will be her nightmare when she runs for the presidency, Robredo simply called this “unpresidential.”
“Ako, I think, that’s very unpresidential. Pero karapatan naman niyang sabihin kung ano iyong dapat niyang sabihin pero siguraduhin niya lang na tama iyong pinagbabasehan niya and in this case, mali siya,” Robredo said.
(I think that’s very unpresidential. But it’s his right to say what he wants to say. But he should make sure that his basis is correct. In this case, he was wrong.)
“Iyong sa akin, kung sino man iyong nagfi-feed sa Presidente ng false information, iyon iyong dapat hanapin,” she added.
(For me, whoever is feeding the President false information should be found.)