MALACAÑANG yesterday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte for blaming politics and alleging that the Marcos administration is behind a recent controversy against her brother, Davao Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Dutertes should have just answered the allegations.
“The Vice President should have at least leveled up in her discussions, in her responses to certain issues. But it seems that she never heard anything in regard to that or she just refuses to listen,” she said.
“She has not levelled up, and seem to have gone down instead. She just repeats her excuses — politics, politicking,” she added in Filipino.
The vice president on Saturday said the filing of complaints of physical injuries and grave threats against her older brother was orchestrated by government to divert people’s attention from national issues like the P20 a kilo rice.
The complaints were related to a video, circulating on social media, showing Rep. Duterte assaulting a man in a bar.
Castro said Rep. Duterte himself has talked about the issue but not deny that it was he who was shown in the video. Instead, Castro said, Rep. Duterte said the video was taken long ago, and Davaoenos will decide if they still want to vote for him as their congressman.
“Now, kung inamin naman po ni Congressman Pulong Duterte — ayon sa kanyang pag-i-interview, hindi niya itinanggi ang video – papaano ipapahid ng bise presidente ang ginawang ito ng kanyang kapatid sa Pangulo at sa administrasyon (Now, if Congressman Pulong Duterte — based on an interview, did not deny the video — how can the vice president blame what her brother did on the President and the administration?” she said.
Castro also said Rep. Duterte, as a public servant, should know his obligations, the law, and how a leader should behave.
FAKE NEWS SOURCE
Castro, in the same press briefing, said the Vice President appears to be the source of fake news against First Lady Liza Marcos after she questioned the timing of her father’s arrest.
The vice president said her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested and turned over to the International Criminal Court for Crimes against Humanity on March 11, at the height of the supposed detention of the First Lady in the United States.
Castro said the First Lady arrived in the country from the US on March 10 and had a meeting with officials of the Girls Scout of the Philippines (GSP) on March 11. She also showed photos of the meeting of the First Lady with the GSP officials.
“So the fake news came from her. She is the source of the fake news that is being spread against the First Lady. Do we need to believe these kinds of stories from the Vice President,” she said.
