Robredo’s camp dismisses allegations, says they’re just working to help typhoon victims
(Eagle News) – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s outburst against Vice-President Leni Robredo had grounds, presenting a statement by her spokesperson and alleged tweets from her family members.
He said that for this reason Duterte would not apologize to Robredo accusing her camp and the opposition as behind the #NasaanAngPangulo tweets at the height of typhoon Ulysses.
The Vice-President’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, on the other hand, dismissed Roque’s allegations and said that it was time to go to work and not concentrate on what has been said in the past.
Roque, in a press briefing, said that Robredo had made it appear in her tweets that she was in charge of relief operations in Cagayan.
“Sa atin lang naman po, pinaninindigan natin may basehan po ang Presidente sa kaniyang mga binitawang salita at ako rin po ‘no, tumingin din ako sa Facebook at naintindihan ko naman kung bakit naghimutok ang Presidente ‘no. Ang konteksto po niyan iyong nagti-trending na #NasaanSiPresidente pero napakadami pong tweet ni Vice President na para bagang siya iyong in charge sa relief operations. Tingnan ninyo po ‘to oh, siya daw ang nagpa-deploy ng air assets, tapos siya iyong nagri-report kung anong nangyayari sa Cagayan ‘no,” he explained in a press briefing.
Roque also presented an exchange of alleged tweets from Robredo’s daughters, Tricia and Aika, that took a swipe at Duterte. He said that it was impossible for Robredo not to know about this,
“At hindi po nakakatulong na bagama’t hindi ko alam kung talagang nagsabi si Vice President kung nasaan si Presidente, eh tingnan ninyo ito, kung hindi man siya eh mayroong mga malapit sa kaniya na nagsabi,” he noted.
“Ito o, makita ninyo ‘no, unang-una iyong tweets ng mga malapit sa kaniya ‘no, iyong sarili niyang mga anak ‘ata: ‘Tulog pa rin, alas otso na.’ Galing po iyan kay Tricia Robredo, hindi ko po alam kung anong relasyon nila. Iyong galing naman kay Aika Robredo: ‘Sabado eh, weekend.‘”
“So iyan po ‘yan ‘no, iyon po ‘yung konteksto – nasaan si presidente, mga tweets na nanggaling—parang sa anak niya ‘no, sabi nila anak daw ‘no. Maybe she can confirm this tapos iyong kaniyang asta na kung hindi dahil sa kaniya eh parang hindi gagalaw ang gobyerno,” he said.
-Roque: Duterte working even before typhoon landfall-
The Palace spokesperson also pointed out that Duterte, even before the typhoon made landfall, had ready called an emergency meeting and directed the deployment of all land, sea and air assets of the police and the military to help the victims of the typhoon. He had also directed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Department of Interior and Local Government to do all they could to prepare the public for the incoming typhoon, including preemptive evacuation and issuance of warnings and alerts.
“Talaga pong wala pa iyong bagyo, naroon na po iyong ating mga kasundaluhan, iyong ating mga kapulisan, iyong ating NDRRMC at iyong paghahanda ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan. To be fair, handa naman po ang mga taong-gobyerno,” Roque explained.
He noted how Robredo’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, had issued a statement in the Vice-President’s radio program also reinforcing the tag “NasaanAngPangulo” that trended on Twitter.
Roque said he himself had been irked by this, and that the President’s ranting against Robredo at the start of his “Talk to the Nation” address was warranted.
“Kung ako napikon nang konti, eh siyempre maintindihan naman natin ‘no kung bakit ganoon ang mga salita ni Presidente. Konteksto niyan iyong trending na nanggaling naman sa kampo ng oposisyon, #NasaanSiPresidente, iyong mga tweets ni Vice President na parang siya ang in charge, at siyempre iyong mga tweets din ng kaniyang malalapit sa buhay,” he said.
“Alam ninyo hindi naman po plastic si Presidente at hindi naman niya ngayon lang ginawa iyan. Consistent po ang behavior ng Presidente. Is that unpresidential? I don’t think so because 91% of the people have said that they trust and they believe that the President is performing well in his duties. Is it unpresidential?According to 91% of our people, no; according to 5%, including the Vice President, yes,” he added.
-Robredo camp says it’s time to move on-
Robredo’s spokesperson, Gutierrez, dismissed the allegations from the Palace that they were behind the hashtag “NasaanAngPangulo” at the height of Typhoon Ulysses.
Robredo herself dismissed accusations from Duterte and the Palace that she was behind what trended on Twitter. She said that this was not the time for a “contest.”
“Sa panahon ng matinding sakuna, dapat lahat na tulong, welcome. Hindi ito contest. Hindi tayo nag uunahan. Lahat tayo dapat nagtutulong tulong para sa ating mga kababayan,” she said in a tweet.
Robredo had also urged her supporters not to engage in trolls, as her camp continued to receive donations to help typhoon victims.
“Just learned that an additional P5M was received by KN overnight. Wow!!! That brings the total to P55M. More communities will receive help. Bayanihan in action. But others are still busy trolling. Pls don’t engage trolls. Just block them,” she twitter.
Gutierrez also said Roque presenting tweets from Robredo’s daughters was a low blow.
“It’s easy enough to claim that we value the truth. But let me just point out that I’m not the one who showed tweets by the VP’s daughters at a press briefing, and attempted to pass them off as “evidence” of an “opposition conspiracy.” NOW can we focus on work already?” he said.
(Eagle News Service)