Robredo rejects vs Duterte rants about their typhoon relief efforts

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for his “misogynistic” and “non-presidential” attacks against him, debunking his claims about his efforts to help victims of the recent typhoons.

He also said that the president had allowed himself to be surrounded by “fake news peddlers” who gave him misinformation about his activities that triggered his spiel on national television.

It was one of the few cases in which Robredo openly refuted Duterte’s statements against him.

In a 20-minute spiel late Tuesday night, the president scored Robredo, falsely accusing her of implying that he was nowhere to be found when Typhoon “Ulysses” (international name: Vamco) struck last week, causing flooding. massive in northern Luzon. He was referring to the Twitter hashtag “#NasaanAngPangulo” (WhereIsthePresident) that was trending on social media.

“I just wanted to warn the vice president,” he said, opening a meeting of the national task force on COVID-19. “She made a mistake, a big one, and practically lied, rendering her incapable of the truth. You know his ploy that I wasn’t there during the typhoon … I was here. “

He said he was attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and the vice president was aware of that.

“There was no need for me to make … a very bad joke asking, ‘Where were you?'” The president said. “What if I ask you what time you went home? … Are you staying in one house? Two houses? … And in which house did you stay the longest? “

Twitter response

Robredo was quick to respond to these statements by the president on Twitter Tuesday night, saying: “When a president is a misogynist, the conversation drops to this level. This is what we have been doing every night, we have had sleepless nights for the last few weeks just so we can get help to those in need. “

Duterte told Robredo that “you are not in the line of authority,” saying that he as president commanded the army and police and headed the bureaucracy, and that the vice president had no role in those functions.

“Don’t compete with me and don’t start a fight with me because you really didn’t do anything but make those phone calls,” he said. “You pretend to call asking, ‘Have the helicopters taken off?’ Of course, they would say yes. Your question would suggest the answer. “

Fake news sellers

Later he suggested to Robredo that if he became president he buy “a lot of bathing suits and start swimming when the floods hit.” He said last week that he had wanted to swim in the flood with people to show his presence, but presidential security agents would not allow it.

The vice president rejected Duterte’s claims that she was looking for him when the typhoon hit the country.

“They were giving him wrong information. It wasn’t me who started the #NasaanAngPangulo hashtag. I never questioned his absence because I knew he was attending the Asean teleconference, ”Robredo told the Inquirer during a visit to the city of Ragay in the Camarines Sur province on Wednesday. “He’s obviously surrounded by fake news peddlers.”

He noted that the same hashtag had also been used with former President Benigno Aquino III.

“This series of events shows that peddlers of fake news surround the president. And I think it is a big mistake for the president to react in that way because he is reacting to false information, ”he said. “For me, my request is: let’s not add the multitude of fake news peddlers among us.”

The vice president, her staff and volunteers from Metro Manila arrived in Ragay at 9 am to distribute relief supplies for the Ulises victims.

He reminded the president that this “is not the right time to have onion skin” about the criticism. “We are in the middle of a crisis. People’s complaints, that’s normal, ”he said.

Robredo also rejected Duterte’s threats to give him a “nightmare” if he runs for president in the next election.

The president said he had “many things” he wanted to reveal about the vice president.

“I would just reserve it. When he starts his campaign, if he runs for president, I will wash it well. This is your nightmare, ”he said.

Reviews welcome

In reaction to the threat, Robredo said he appreciated the president’s criticism.

“That is your right. You can criticize me whenever you want, but threatening me with something like that is so un-presidential, “he told the Inquirer. “You can criticize me as long as it is factual and has a basis.”

He also called Salvador Panelo, the president’s legal advisor, for claiming that he used a C-130 military cargo plane to visit Catanduanes to distribute aid packages from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, saying it was “100 percent news. false. “

Panelo later apologized, saying he got the information from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who also apologized to the vice president.

Most people in the national capital and the rest of the country learned of the massive flood that affected the Cagayan valley after Ulises left Luzon only on Friday night and Saturday morning, when social media They began to be inundated with posts that reported and featured photos and videos of people huddled together. on the rooftops.

Robredo said late Friday that his office was “taking note of all calls for help and forwarding them to rescue teams on the ground.”

Rescue coordination

In a series of tweets from Friday night to early Saturday morning, Robredo said he coordinated with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for possible rescue operations. According to her, the rescue teams faced strong flood currents.

The detained senator Leila de Lima mocked the president’s “collapse”, describing her remarks against Robredo as the drunken ravings of someone who has just got out of bed.

“I heard Duterte lost his temper last night. There’s a [Filipino] saying: Laugh at the drunkards, but not the ones who just woke up, ”he said in a post on Twitter Wednesday.

“While Vice President Leni is busy helping our people, the old man is busy being rude,” De Lima said in a statement from her cell at Camp Crame, where she is being held on what she calls bogus drug trafficking charges.

“If President Duterte can use his courage to serve our nation instead of politicking, he would not be as insecure of people like Vice President Leni who are diligent, effective and helpful,” he said in Filipino. “Duterte’s disgusting misogyny is beyond reputation.”

Focus on helping people

Senator Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Liberal Party, chaired by Robredo, and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon called for unity and cooperation during the pandemic and the aftermath of the typhoon.

“We should all focus on helping our people, instead of making up stories and fighting,” Pangilinan said.

Drilon said: “We can and must rise above politics during these difficult times.”

But former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV does not beat around the bush for Mr. Duterte.

Back off, you lazy, incompetent fool! Vice President Leni did her duty and more, ”she said on Twitter.

The president of the Senate, Vicente Sotto III, said he would stay out of the dispute between the two highest officials in the country.

“I prefer not to jump into their fray. My 32 years of political experience tells me not to do it, “he told reporters in a Viber message.

—With reports from Jerome Aning, Nestor Corrales, and DJ Yap

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