By Gabriela Baron
Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday, Sept. 15, defended using the presidential chopper after receiving flak online.
Duterte, in a social media post this week, thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for lending her the presidential chopper so she could get “home in time to tuck [her] children to bed.”
Some netizens called out Duterte for supposedly using the presidential chopper “for personal use.”
Duterte, in a statement, also refuted an accusation made by a netizen, alleging the Vice President of using the presidential chopper daily.
“I believe that a person who can conjure a lie from an appreciation post — that a helicopter is being used to go home every day, even giving in to the itch of maliciously suggesting that it is for personal use — should seriously reflect on why he had to lie,” Duterte said.
“I think that if this person can recognize his anger, he will be able to overcome his bitter and spiteful self. Hopefully, he becomes a better version of himself — despite the cycle of hate that has enslaved him,” she added.
Earlier, Office of the Vice President Spokesperson Reynold Munsayac clarified that the chopper is only being used for official travels. –ag