Palace calls out Robredo’s ‘politicking,’ ‘nitpicking’ of gov’t COVID-19 response

President spokesperson Harry Roque and Vice President Leni Robredo (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday called out Vice President Leni Robredo’s supposed “politicking” for making it a habit to “nitpick” the government’s COVID-19 efforts as the national election nears.

“While the President has acknowledged the Vice President’s initiatives in the fight against coronavirus, Mrs. Robredo has made it a weekly media habit to nitpick the Executive’s COVID-19 response,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“It has become noticeable that her criticisms have become incessant and non-stop as the country approaches an election season. This is simply politicking,” he added.

Roque issued this statement after Robredo sought a “time-out” on politicking and digging up the past of political rivals as the country faces an increasing number of new COVID-19 cases.

His remarks also came on the heels of Robredo’s suggestions for the government to ramp up the conduct of coronavirus tests and anti-coronavirus vaccinations amid fears of the highly transmissible Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes serious respiratory ailment COVID-19.

READ: Robredo to gov’t: Hit 750,000 vaccinations a day so this ECQ is ‘last lockdown’

Roque agreed with Robredo that the focus should be on the continuously increasing COVID-19 cases, but he also stressed at the same time that this “has been the action of the Duterte Administration to the pandemic.”

While he does not claim that the government’s actions are always correct, Roque said they only welcome constructive criticisms and not statements that undermine the Duterte administration’s response to the public health crisis.

“We do not say that we are right all the time as no State can claim that it is ready for the challenges this pandemic brings.  After all, there is no handbook that deals with COVID-19, and this is why there are instances that we refine and update guidelines and protocols on the basis of hard data available that particular time,” Roque said.

“We welcome constructive criticisms, as evidenced by the appeals of the LGUs’ [local government units] on community quarantine classifications, but not remarks that devalue the efforts of the national government,” he added.

In a taped speech, Robredo brought up the issue of politicking after President Rodrigo Duterte said he had stripped off a Metro Manila LGUs’ power to distribute cash aid because of its supposed inefficiency.

The President also mocked the mayor of this LGU, which he did not identify, for having “bikini” photos online. He even teased the public if it prefers a president whose training appears like that of a “call boy.”

Roque had refused to name the mayor Duterte was pertaining to, but some believe the President was referring to Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso who was an actor in his youth and is rumored to be gunning for higher office in 2022.

After Duterte chided this mayor for the supposed inability to make the cash aid delivery organized, Moreno shared a certificate of recognition given to Manila City by government agencies for its efforts in handing out the financial assistance.

KGA