MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo lambasted Vice President Leni Robredo after the latter’s camp accused him of lacking empathy for criticizing the delayed release of supposed drug war report.
“Her (Robredo) decision to call a press briefing to announce that there is no press briefing, while flashing her 40-page report, reveals that she only wants the spotlight,” Panelo said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Panelo dismissed as “pure nonsense” criticism that he lacked concern for victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Davao del Sur, for trying to “score political points when we’re in the middle of a tragedy.”
“She has deferred her report a number of times, looking for a perfect timing and hoping that people would pay attention to her as she struggles to be relevant…” he added.
Robredo on Monday called a press conference to announce the postponement of her release of her discoveries and recommendation on the government’s drug war during her short stint as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs due to the earthquake that hit Davao del Sur last Sunday.
Panelo then chided Robredo that she may seemed have nothing to report, to which Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez accusing Panelo of lacking empathy.
“Kung hindi naiintindihan ni Secretary Panelo kung bakit ipinagpaubaya ng ating bise presidente ang pag-release ng report ngayong umaga pagkatapos nung lindol na nangyari kahapon, eh siguro totoong wala s’yang puso at malasakit para sa ating mga kababayan,” Gutierrez said.
Panelo went on with his tirade on the Vice President saying that the Duterte administration did not accuse her of lack of sympathy when she was on a foreign trip when typhoon Nina struck her home region Bicol in 2016.
“This is not the time to vacillate. If she has ‘discoveries’ that she threatened to expose, bring it on! As the President dares her to do,” Panelo said.
Duterte’s spokesman also said it was Robredo who announced that she would release her report in the first place, hyping public expectation.
“This administration, through the various agencies of the government, provides reports to the people regularly. It is not as if when the Vice President speaks, the world will stop and the government will halt its operations to provide assistance in Davao,” he added.
“If VP Leni has anything to recommend about improving the current anti-illegal drug war, out with it,” Panelo said./PN
Si Panelo parang Ulllolll walang ginagawa kong di mag bantay kay Robredo. Kapag BOOMER talaga walang na magawang matino. Dapat sa sunod huwag mag kuha ng spokeman na ang laman ng isip paghihiganti at purely politically minded morrrrooon.