Senator Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
Actress Agot Isidro has found an ally in Senator Panfilo Lacson.
“Sa isang banda, si Agot Isidro may sense sinasabi. Kung gusto mo magutom, magutom ka mag-isa, ‘wag mo kami idamay. Kung sumama ang ekonomiya, madadamay lahat na karamihan ng Pilipino na magugutom,” Lacson said in an interview at the Senate on Wednesday.
(On one hand, what Agot Isidro said makes sense. If you want to go hungry, go hungry by yourself; leave us out of it. If the economy gets worse, many Filipinos will get affected and go hungry.)
The actress came under attack when she posted in Facebook over the weekend her criticisms against President Rodrigo Duterte for his continued attacks against the United States and some international bodies. She even called the President a “psychopath.”
“Unang-una, walang umaaway sa iyo. As a matter of fact, ikaw ang nang-aaway. Pangalawa, ‘yung bansa kung saan ka iniluklok ng 16 million out of 100+ million people ay Third World. Kung makapagsalita ka parang superpower ang Pilipinas eh,” Isidro wrote.
(First of all, no one’s trying to fight you. As a matter of fact, you’re the one who’s picking a fight. Secondly, the country where you are elected as President by 16 million out of 100+ million is Third World. You talk as if the Philippines is a superpower.)
“At excuse me, ayaw namin magutom. Mag-isa ka na lang. Wag kang mandamay. Hindi na nga nakakain ang nakararami, gugutumin mo pa lalo,” she added.
(Excuse me, we don’t want to go hungry. If you want, you do it yourself. Leave us out of it. So many people have nothing to eat, and yet you’ll starve us even further.)
READ: Actress Agot Isidro calls Duterte ‘psychopath’; Palace reacts
It was Lacson, who brought up Isidro’s name when reporters sought for comment on the latest Pulse Asia survey, which showed Duterte still enjoying high trust and approval rating with 86 percent.
READ: Most Filipinos trust Duterte at 86 percent—Pulse Asia
The senator noted, however, that the President’s latest approval rating was five points down from 91 percent that the President received in July.
He said the Duterte’s rating remained high because of the perception that he could produce results in his war on illegal drugs.
“Pero tanong natin, dahil may slide, hanggang kailan mame-maintain? O kaya at least man lang mag-slide nang kaunti, pero baka kung tumagal mawala ang goodwill dahil sa pronouncement na sa tingin ko hindi nakakabuti,” he said.
(But our question is, since there is a slide, until when will it be maintained? Or at least the slide is minimal, but what if as the time goes, goodwill disappears because of the pronouncement, which I think isn’t good.)
The senator also cited the President’s pronouncements against the US and the European Union, which he said would not do anything good for the country.
“Mataas pa rin (ang rating) pero ang dapat pagaralan bakit may slide, bakit bumababa? At kung magpapatuloy ‘yan, kailan sila magigising para i-correct?”
(The rating is still high but it must be studied why there was a slide, why it went down. And if it continues, when will they wake up to correct this?)
“Obviously, may kamaliang nangyayari kasi consistent, two survey firms nagsasabing may pagbaba, hindi nga lang substantial,” Lacson said.
(Obviously, something wrong happened because it’s consistent, two survey firms said there was a decrease, it just isn’t substantial.)
He said the President was “so sensitive” when his war against illegal drugs is being criticized.
“But I think the President is overreacting at times, unnecessary kasi ang tinatamaan dito ang longtime allies natin tulad ng US, UK, EU (it’s unecessary that he hits our longtime allies like US, UK, EU),” the senator added. JE
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