Malacañang firmly asserted that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has a basis for his tirades against Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque presented the tweets of the Vice President as proof that she is taking charge of the situation.
“Bless her po. Sa atin lang naman po, pinananinindigan natin. May basehan po ang Presidente sa kanyang binitiwang mga salita at ako rin po ay tumingin sa Facebook. At naintindihan ko naman kung bakit naghimutok ang Presidente. Ang konteksto po niyan ay ang nagte-trending na “Nasaan si Presidente?” pero napakaraming tweet ni VP para bang siya ang in-charge sa relief operations. (For us, we stand by it. The President has basis for his words and I went through Facebook. And I understand why the President was fuming. The context here is the trend #NasaanangPangulo but VP had so many tweets and it appeared as if she was in-charge of the relief operations).”
Secretary Roque also presented screenshots of the tweets of Robredo’s daughters that read “Tulog pa rin? Alas otso na (Still asleep? It’s already 8)” Tricia Robredo tweeted and her sister Aika Robredo answering “Sabado eh. Weekend. (It’s Saturday. Weekend.).”
Roque also read the comments of Vice President Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez on the government’s response to Typhoon “Ulysses” stating that her spokesperson has asked “Nasaan ang Pangulo?”
“So kung totoo, Vice President, na hindi mo sinabi na “Nasaan ang Pangulo?” ‘yung spokesperson mo did. Scold your spokesperson. Do not demand an apology from the President. (If it is true, Vice President, that you did not say “Where is the President?” your Spokesperson did. Scold your spokesperson. Do not demand an apology from the President.)”
Roque pointed out that the government’s response to calamities has already been laid out.
“Sinasabi ko na hindi dapat si Presidente ang mismong gumagawa. Sapat na po ‘yang nagbigay siya ng mga instruction sa lahat ng ahensya at departamento ng gobyerno. (What I’m saying is the President must not be doing it himself. It’s enough that he gave instructions to all the agencies and departments of the government).” – Report from Mela Lesmoras/PTV News Online
