Robredo defends daughters: 'They're entitled to their own opinions'
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo defended her daughters' social media activity anew on Sunday, saying there is nothing wrong with them posting their opinions on social media.
Speaking at her radio show on Sunday, the vice president also questioned why government officials were using their resources to track her daughters' Twitter channels in the middle of a pandemic and the aftermath of three typhoons in as many weeks.
This comes days after Palace spokesperson Harry Roque flashed screengrabs of tweets published by Robredo's daughters, saying the social media posts proved that the vice president's camp was behind the narrative that President Rodrigo Duterte was nowhere to be found amid the government's typhoon response.
Robredo's daughters do not hold government posts.
"I didn't even know they posted that. I only found out when Secretary Harry Roque mentioned it. For me, with all the needs of our countrymen right now, why would you focus on what my daughters are saying?" she said Sunday in mixed Filipino and English.
"They have a right to their own opinion. I'm not going to apologize for their beliefs," Robredo also said, adding that they have always been attacked by trolls on social media.
Tricia Robredo in her tweet presented by Roque posted: “Tulog pa rin, alas otso na,” to which her sister, Aika, replied: “Sabado eh, weekend.”
Duterte 'meltdown'
Duterte's latest tantrum came during a public address on Wednesday that was supposed to be about Typhoon Ulysses and the government's coronavirus response thus far.
After slandering the vice president over baseless and unvetted claims for most of his address, accusing her of "grandstanding" and starting the #NasaanAngPangulo trend on social media, the president belatedly placed mainland Luzon under a state of calamity in the aftermath of three straight typhoons.
"She made a blunder, a big one, and she practically lied, making her incapable of truth...Next time, do not make a mistake, or I’ll be forced to insult you because you are playing too much. Nagpapa-beauty ka," Duterte said then.
"We're not trying to compete with them. We're not doing anything new. What we're doing, we've been doing since 2016. We just got more media mileage now, and perhaps the insults have also helped.
"I'm not going to stoop down to their disrespect," Robredo said.
Earlier, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission also accused Robredo of the same, saying her actions "compete with" or are "calculated to undermine" the national government's efforts amid the COVID-19 scare and urging the National Bureau of Investigation to launch an investigation on the vice president-elect.
PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica later that same day disavowed the pronouncement, saying it was not the commission's official position and only the personal opinion of fellow PACC commissioner Manuelito Luna.
President Duterte fired Luna for the post days after.
— Franco Luna
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