VP Leni Vows To Run After Fake News Peddlers: “I never said Nasaan Ang Pangulo?”

Vice President Leni Robredo told President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, November 17, following the latter’s fresh tirades over her typhoon response efforts.

Robredo denied the President’s claim that she asked about his whereabouts when Typhoon Ulysses hit the country.

“President Duterte is being fed with wrong information. I am also calling out whoever peddled the fake news to the President kaya ganito siya ka-pikon. I never said “Where is the President?” You can review all my tweets,” Robredo posted in a tweet.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night, lashed out at Vice President Leni Robredo for alleged “grandstanding” and questioning his absence during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses last week.

The President considered the Vice President as “dishonest” for pretending not to know that he was attending the 37th virtual ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from November 12 to 15.

“Alam mo may summit going on ASEAN Summit. And I was giving the longest speech there, intervention, in the Plenary. Iyon ang totoo diyan. Kaya ako lumipad doon sa Bicol. Inunahan mo ako pakunwari.” President Duterte said.

The President accused Robredo of being showy during the typhoon response since she knew that he was busy attending the summit and “could not make myself available.”

“Huwag ka masyadong porma-porma, hindi mo talaga panahon. Hindi mo pa panahon. Not time to be making a grandstanding. Hindi ninyo alam na nagtatrabaho ako. Na-timingan lang it was a summit and I cannot excuse you for not knowing it. You knew that there was a summit going on and you had the gall to say, ‘Nasaan ang Presidente?” he said. 

President Duterte also revealed that Robredo merely made phone calls and acted as if the Armed Forces of the Philippines took action after her call.

“Then you make it appear na gumalaw ang Armed Forces. You are not part of the command,” he said.

The President warned Robredo against trying to “compete” with him, adding that she “cannot become president.”

“Do not compete with me and do not start a quarrel with me kasi ikaw wala ka talagang nagawa except ‘yang mga tawag-tawag. Tatawag ka kunwari o nasaan na ‘yung mga helicopter, nalipad na ba? Of course, they would say yes. Your question would suggest the answer,” he said.

President Duterte said government personnel and resources were prepositioned two to three days before the typhoon made landfall.

“Hindi na kailangan akong mag-order at mag-order ka pa on the day. God… You were presuming that I should be giving orders on the day of the storm. That is stupid. That is why you cannot become a president really. Mahina ka eh. Wala ka nang ibigay order kasi ang order naibigay na two or three days. You do not give orders on the day of the war,” he said.

The President also denied that he was sleeping on the job, saying he was monitoring the typhoon situation while attending the summit.

“Gusto ninyong ipalabas natutulog. Kung ordinary times, walang emergency, walang typhoon. I told you right at the beginning of my term, I am a night person. My day starts at 2 o’clock in Malacañan,” he said.

President Duterte said Robredo knew he was a “night person” and work on government documents at night.

“Ngayon, sinabi ko sa tao ‘yan that I’m a night person. My day begins at two, two o’clock hanggang sa gabi na walang limit. In our Cabinet meetings, it’s the same. Ikaw, Cabinet member ka man sandali, hanggang gabi na ‘yan aabot ng alas dos, alas tres ng umaga. Cabinet meeting ‘yan. Alam mo ‘yan,” he said. 

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On the day the typhoon hit, the President said he was preparing for the ASEAN Summit in the morning and at the same time getting updates from the military about the typhoon and the affected areas.

“Ngayon kung sabihin mo may emergency, natutulog ako sa umaga, hindi ako natulog noon. Gising ako ng umaga because of the summit. At same time, I would go and whisper to the military guys in the room of how – how was it developing and what was the reaction of our government people there and the resources. Hindi mo na kailangan orderin ‘yan sila kasi two days before deployed na ‘yan sila doon pa, nasa bodega na ‘yan ng mga sa gobyerno. Naka-deploy na ‘yan,” he said.

President Duterte lectured Robredo on how to handle war-like calamity preparations, likening the typhoon to going to battle.

“Lesson one for you, do not plan and give orders on the day of the battle. You just sit where you are. If you are a commander, do not go to the frontlines and have yourself shot and die. Magpapa-hero ka lang niyan,” he said.

Insisting that it was a “sin” for Robredo to not know what was happening in government, the President explained that he delivered about two speeches during the summit and later made an aerial inspection of the typhoon-hit areas.

“You are the Vice President of this country and you cannot pretend that you do not know what was happening sa gobyerno,” he said.

“There was no need for you to make a very masamang biro na, ‘where were you?’ Kung sabihin ko tuloy sa iyo, what time did you go home? Ikaw noong gabi, anong oras ka umuwi? Isang bahay ka lang ba? Dalawang bahay ka?” he added.

Meanwhile, Tricia and Aika Robredo, the daughters of the Vice President, posted this on Twitter during the height of the typhoon.
 

READ: PRRD: Next Philippine President Might Come From Bicol But It’s Not Leni

Source: Philippine News Agency