MANILA, Philippines—France Castro, the House Assistant Minority Leader, lashed out at President Rodrigo Duterte after the country’s top executive ranted against Vice President Lent Robredo’s relief efforts in a taped speech that was broadcasted across the country.
In a statement released Wednesday, Castro said Duterte should “start making up for his absences,” which has been a statement the public clamored for after he was observed missing throughout the onslaught of Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses that battered most of Luzon.
“Stop blabbering and childish acts. Start making up for your absences instead of being insecure to someone who’s actually giving her best efforts in helping the nation to recover,” said Castro, who’s also the ACT Teachers Representative in the Lower House.
“There are a lot of things that need to be accomplished after a string of strong typhoons hit the country. A million lives of Filipinos have been displaced and endangered, many lost their homes, crops, and livelihood, and worst, many have died. Dirty politics and peddling fake news, are these your priorities in the midst of a pandemic, economic crises, and natural calamities plaguing the country?”
Duterte, who admitted starting his days at 2 pm, threatened Robredo with his usual bravado and misogyny and even told the Vice President that he would be her “worst nightmare” if she runs for the presidency in 2022.
The Chief Executive also belittled Robredo’s efforts in disaster response, adding that the Vice President was demanding to know his whereabouts—a statement that government social media trolls have repeated numerous times on the internet.
Robredo, who’s coordinated the police and military in her disaster response, has already rebuffed Duterte’s statements as well as media outlets that cover Malacañang.
“What the people need now is a concrete and immediate prioritization to the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of recent calamities,” said Castro.