Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Wednesday advised the government to stop petty attacks and focus on the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All-in dapat tayo sa pagtugon sa krisis na ito. All eyes on the surge. Saka na kayo mag-ungkatan ng past. Kung itutuon natin ang lakas natin sa pagtutulungan kaysa sa bangayan, mas marami tayong magagawa,” Robredo said.
She made the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte ranted about an unnamed mayor and criticized him for having sexy photos in the past.
Duterte also said he would have the interior and social welfare and development departments handle the distribution of cash aid in the mayor’s jurisdiction due to his supposed ineptitude.
“Iyong oras at energies na ginugugol sa pasaring at panlalait, magiging mas productive ‘yan kung itulong halimbawa sa Bayanihan E-Konsulta o sa iba pang Covid-related initiatives,” she added.
The vice president also said that the government should find ways to streamline its vaccine and cash aid distribution.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque, in response, accused Robredo of “politicking.”
“[M]rs. Robredo has made it a weekly media habit to nitpick the executive’s Covid-19 response. It has become noticeable that her criticisms have become incessant and non-stop as the country approaches an election season. This is simply politicking,” Roque said.
Roque earlier said he could not comment on Duterte’s mudslinging—which, too, came as the election period approaches—even though the president’s description fit Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who could be Duterte’s opponent for the vice presidency in 2022.
Roque claimed the Duterte administration has had its eyes set on the surge the whole time, and said Robredo should not make statements that devalue the government’s achievements.
“We welcome constructive criticisms, as evidenced by the appeals of the LGUs’ on community quarantine classifications, but not remarks that devalue the efforts of the national government. We may not be on the same boat but we are all facing the same storm; thus, we have to work on the same goal of magbalik-buhay, magpabakuna,” Roque said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro