MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday night was quick to parry President Rodrigo Duterte’s false accusation that she started #NasaanAngPangulo, a hashtag that trended while Luzon was being battered by Typhoon Ulysses.
"I am also calling out whoever peddled the fake news to the president that is why he is this easily angered. I never said 'Where is the President'? You can review all my tweets," Robredo wrote in a tweet.
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This was in response to Duterte, who in a recorded speech aired late Tuesday night, pushed back discussing vaccine acquisition to talk about the government response to typhoons Ulysses and Rolly to rail against Robredo whom he incorrectly blamed for the hashtag that trended on social media.
"Hindi ako na-ano sa sabihin mo anong gusto niyang mangyari kung saan ako — nasaan ang presidente?" he said.
(I don't know what you wanted to happen [by asking] where I was — where is the president?)
The hashtag has been around since Benigno Aquino III was president.
The president, who said in the same speech that he is a "night person", added that Robredo should have known that he was attending the Association of East Asian Nations Summit — which happened the morning after Ulysses made three landfalls in Quezon province overnight.
READ: Duterte attends ASEAN Summit
The president ended his almost 20-minute rant against Robredo by asking about where she goes at night, in possible reference to long addressed rumors that she has a boyfriend.
Earlier on Tuesday, Robredo's spokesperson also called out Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo for claiming she had hitched a ride to Catanduanes on a government C-130 aircraft.
Robredo: 'I did what I felt was my job'
When a President is a mysoginist, the conversation goes down to this level. Eto po yung ginagawa namin gabi gabi, nagpupuyat ilang linggo na para, araw-araw, may madala lang na tulong sa mga nangangailangan. https://t.co/J6MJ7yEl6U pic.twitter.com/lrtkpPKI4C
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) November 17, 2020
As the president’s speech was airing, the vice president posted a video on her Twitter account of relief goods being loaded onto a truck at the Office of the Vice President. She said anyone can come to her office to check what she is up to.
In another tweet with a video showing repacking inside the OVP premises, Robredo said partly in Filipino: "When a president is a misogynist, the conversation goes down to this level. This is what we are going every night, staying up late every week so, every day, there is help given to those who need it.”
The vice president noted that helped poured in to those who were crying for rescue in Cagayan and Isabela on the night of November 13 until wee hours of the next day.
Several social media posts showed families spending the night on their rooftops as flood water submerged their homes.
“I did what I felt was my job,” Robredo added.
The vice president also explained that they sent all distress calls to everyone they can contact on the ground and everyone they can reach, such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.
“The lives of our countrymen are at stake. There is no space for our ego when lives are at stake,” she added.
Robredo said they regularly shared updates from the ground to “sure who are distressed that (1) we heard you; (2) help is coming); (3) we are doing all we can to save you.”
“In time of great crisis, all help should be welcomed. This is not a contest. We are not in a race. All of us should be helping each other for our countrymen,” Robredo also said. — Kristine Joy Patag