MANILA, Philippines — Alessandra de Rossi, DJ Chacha, and several celebrities slammed President Rodrigo Duterte as he lambasted Vice President Leni Robredo for allegedly “grandstanding” and lying to the public for allegedly spreading talk he was missing in action during the height of Typhoon Ulysses.
“Magpasalamat ka na lang kaya? Contest pala ito. Di ako na inform,” de Rossi said on Twitter regarding the President’s late-night address.
Magpasalamat ka nalang kaya? 😂 Contest pala ito. Di ako na inform.
— alessandra de rossi (@msderossi) November 17, 2020
(Can’t you just say thank you? I wasn’t informed that this was a contest.)
DJ Chacha, or Czarina Balba in real life, likewise shared her reaction on Duterte’s rant of Robredo: “Wala naman nakikipag-unahan sayo, lagi ka lang talagang late.
Wala naman nakikipag-unahan sayo, lagi ka lang talagang late 😂👏
— DJ Chacha (@_djchacha) November 18, 2020
(Nobody’s trying to compete with you. It’s just that you’re always late.)
Actress Mela Franco Habijan, meanwhile, said that Duterte was only ruining himself.
Digong, ang totoong sumisira sa’yo ay ang sarili mo. Hindi ka naman hahanapin kung umaaksyon ka.
At doon lang tayo sa totoo: si VP Leni, maraming gawa. Ikaw, maraming ngawa.
— Miss Mela Habijan (@missmelahabijan) November 17, 2020
“Digong, ang totoong sumisira sa’yo ay ang sarili mo. Hindi ka naman hahanapin kung umaaksyon ka,” Habijan told the Chief Executive.
(Digong, the only person you are truly ruining is yourself. People won’t look for you if you just took action.)
“At doon lang tayo sa totoo: si VP Leni, maraming gawa. Ikaw, maraming ngawa,” she added.
(And let’s side with the truth: VP Leni has done a lot You just run your mouth.)
For singer Bituin Escalante, she asked Duterte what his role really was.
Puro ka reklamo, tsismis at kabastusan. President ka ba o tambay sa kanto? Magtrabaho ka na Lang. #DuterteMeltdown
— bituin escalante (@gobituin) November 18, 2020
“Puro ka reklamo, tsismis at kabastusan. President ka ba o tambay sa kanto? Magtrabaho ka na Lang. #DuterteMeltdown,” she said.
(You just rant, gossip, and are full of profanities. Are you a president or a lollygagger by the corner?)
how to unfollow president? pls advise https://t.co/qSQnvzZ0jb
— nini (@janinegutierrez) November 17, 2020
And Janine Gutierrez, quoting a tweet from organization #MentalHealthPH that read “11:11 it’s okay to unfollow/unfriend for your mental health”, had this to say in response: “How to unfollow president? pls advise.”
In his address to the nation that was originally about the government’s COVID-19 response and the recent spate of typhoons, Duterte lashed out at Robredo to allegedly criticize him for his absence the onslaught of Ulysses.
“I would like to give a caution to the Vice President. She made a blunder, a big one, and she practically lied, making her incapable of truth. Iyong pakana niya na wala ako noong bagyo (I wasn’t here during the typhoon), I was here. I was attending the Asean Summit,” he said.
During the onslaught of Ulysses, the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo trended on social media as netizens questioned the absence of Duterte, who was attending the 37th ASEAN Summit via teleconferencing.
At one point, a visibly irked Duterte also threatened Robredo that he would get in the way of her chances should she decide to run for the presidency in 2022.
Robredo then shot back at the President, saying that his claim that she criticized him for his whereabouts was not true. The Vice President also told the Chief Executive that helping Filipinos during a calamity was not a contest.
In a chance interview with reporters on Wednesday, the vice president then advised the President to stop being onion-skinned when it comes to criticisms.
“Pero iyong para sa akin, dapat kasi hindi tayo balat-sibuyas sa ganiyan kasi traditionally naman kung sino iyong nakaupo, marami talagang reklamo iyong tao. Pero sa atin, hindi dapat siya nagiging dahilan para mag-away-away lalo na sa panahon na dapat nagtutulong-tulongan,” Robredo said.
(For me, we shouldn’t be onion-skinned about these things because traditionally, people have complaints about whoever is seated as President. It should not be a reason to fight, especially during a time when we should be helping each other.) [ac]