Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
MANILA – Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Monday slammed former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV for branding President Rodrigo Duterte as a “narcissist”.
“Palibhasa kasi pag nakikita nitong dating senador na ito ang sarili niya sa salamin, nakikita niya yung paglalarawan niya kay Presidente actually ang nilalarawan niya siya (When this former senator looks to a mirror, the words he describes the President with are words he actually describes himself with),” he said in his online commentary show "Counterpoint".
Panelo emphasized that exercises and sports were considered “essential” amid the pandemic, amid the release of photos showing Duterte jogging and playing golf.
“Yung ginawa ni Presidente na vinideo yung kanyang paglalakad, pagja-jogging, para ipakita dun sa mga naninira na siya daw ay may sakit at mamamatay na. Ba’t mo sasabihin non-essential ‘yun, di ba ang page-ehersisyo essential ‘yun? (Videos of Duterte jogging were released to disprove critics saying he’s sick or dead. Why would you say it’s non-essential when exercising is essential)?” he said.
He also assured that Duterte remains to be “in command” despite Trillanes’ insistence to show proof that the President is working.
“He is in command. Hindi kailangan ipakita pa sa inyo kung ano yung ginagawa niya. Ang mga naghananap po niyan yung mga kontra sa kanya, yung mga naninira sa kanya. (He doesn’t need to show what he is doing. The only one’s looking for proof are those against him, those who are set on destroying his reputation),” he said.
In a Palace press briefing on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte does not need to prove that he is working because the nation believes that he is on top of the Covid-19 situation.
“Ang Presidente walang iniisip kundi yung mga problema ng bayan. May mga iba kasi nagpapakita lang pag sila'y nagpapatrabaho para lang pagpapakita purposes. Pero alam naman natin na ang Presidente natin 24/7 ang kaniyang pag-iisip ay nasa bayan po (The President does not think about anything else except the problems of the country. There are some showing they’re working just for the sake of showing that they’re working. But we know that the President is thinking about the nation 24/7),” Roque said.
On Sunday, Trillanes, a staunch critic of Duterte, said the President purposely hid himself from the public eye so that he would be talked about and reappear as a "conquering hero”.
“I’m not buying this info that Duterte is sick. He’s been doing that for the past 5 years. Mawawala kunyare (pretend to disappear) then they’d float their own rumor. Tapos lalabas (then appear) like a conquering hero and burn all those who went for the ride. He’s a narcissist, remember? He craves for the attention,” Trillanes said in a statement.
Despite being out of the public eye, Roque said Duterte continued to oversee the government’s Covid-19 response efforts, including vaccine procurement and rollout.
“The President made all the decisions he needs to make particularly on the quarantine classifications. Patuloy din ang kaniyang pag-supervise dito sa acquisition ng mga bakuna at pagsisigurado na ang bakuna ay naro-rollout at the soonest time possible (He also continues to supervise the acquisition of vaccines and ensures that vaccines are rolled out the soonest possible time),” he said.
Duterte decided to skip his regular talk to the nation last week after over a hundred of his close-in security detail contracted Covid-19.
He said Duterte is set to hold his regular talk to the people after meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members on Monday night.
“This confirms that PRRD will hold his talk to the people tonight. I will join online,” Roque said in a text message. (PNA)
