President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo
MANILA – President Rodrigo R. 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.
Duterte labeled Robredo as “dishonest” for pretending not to know that he was attending the 37th virtual Asean Summit and Related Summits from November 12 to 15.
“Huwag ka masyadong porma-porma, hindi mo talaga panahon. Hindi mo pa panahon (Don’t act like that. It’s not your time yet). Not time to be making a grandstanding. Hindi ninyo alam na nagtatrabaho ako. Na-timingan lang it was a summit (You didn’t know I was working. It just so happened there 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 (Where is the President)?” he said in a taped speech.
Duterte accused the Vice President of being showy during the typhoon response since she knew that he was busy attending the summit and “could not make myself available.”
“Alam mo may summit going on (You knew there was a 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 (That’s the truth. That’s why I flew to Bicol. You wanted to be there ahead of me),” he said.
Robredo, the President said, 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 (that the Armed Forces acted). You are not part of the command,” he said.
Duterte also 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? (because you didn’t do anything except make calls. You would call and ask, ‘Did the helicopters take off yet?’) Of course, they would say yes. Your question would suggest the answer,” he said.
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 (There was no need for me to make orders or for you to make an order 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’re weak. You didn’t have to give any order because I gave it two or three days before). You do not give orders on the day of the war,” he said.
'Night person'
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 (You want to make it appear like I was asleep. In ordinary times, when there’s no emergency, no 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.
Duterte said Robredo knew he was a "night person" and work on government documents at night.
"Ngayon, sinabi ko sa tao ‘yan (I've already told the public even before) that I’m a night person. My day begins at two, two o’clock hanggang sa gabi na walang (until night without) limit. In our Cabinet meetings ganun (it's the same). Ikaw, Cabinet member ka man sandali, hanggang gabi na ‘yan aabot ng alas dos, alas tres ng umaga (You were once a Cabinet member, meetings go on until night or sometimes even 2 or 3 a.m.). Cabinet meeting ‘yan. Alam mo ‘yan (You know that)," he said.
On the day the typhoon hit, Duterte 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 (Now if you say there is an emergency and I was sleeping in the morning, no, I wasn't). Gising ako ng umaga (I was awake) 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 po, nasa bodega na ‘yan ng mga sa gobyerno. Naka-deploy na ‘yan (You don't have to call orders because two days before [the typhoon hit], they have been deployed, the government workers are there)," he said.
Going to battle
Likening the typhoon to going to battle, Duterte lectured Robredo on how to handle war-like calamity preparations.
"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 (You're just making yourself the hero)," he said.
Insisting that it was a “sin” for Robredo to not know what was happening in government, Duterte 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 (in government)," he said.
"There was no need for you to make a --- make a very masamang biro na (a bad joke), 'where were you?' Kung sabihin ko tuloy sa iyo (If I tell you), what time did you go home? Ikaw noong gabi, anong oras ka umuwi (What time did you go home at night)? Isang bahay ka lang ba? Dalawang bahay ka? (Do you live in just one house? Two houses?)," Duterte said.
In a tweet, Robredo debunked Duterte's allegations, denying that her office did nothing during the height of the typhoon.
She said her office was busy repacking relief goods in their headquarters in Quezon City. (PNA)
