VICE President Sara Duterte on Monday told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to look himself in the mirror after the Chief Executive told newly sworn-in national and local officials to “stop politicking” and instead focus on public service.
“Siguro tumingin siya sa salamin ‘pag sinasabi niya ‘yan stop na ang pamumulitika kasi sila ang namumulitika. Ang ginagawa lang namin lahat ay sumasagot kami (Maybe he should look in the mirror when he says stop politicking because they are the ones doing it. What we’re doing is merely responding to them),” she said while meeting with supporters after visiting her father former president Rodrigo Duterte in detention in The Hague.
The Vice President also cited the case of former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Harry Roque, who was with her at the event, saying, he, too, is a victim of the administration’s “politicking” for his closeness to the former president.
Roque is seeking political asylum in the Netherlands. He is facing legal charges for his alleged involvement in illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“So, we’re not attacking. We are responding and defending. So, they’re the ones who should stop,” Duterte said in Filipino.
The Vice President reiterated she has no plan to attend the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28 because she will be in The Hague until July 23. On the day of the SONA, she is set to attend a “Free Duterte Rally” of the Filipino community in South Korea.
Responding to the vice president, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro yesterday agreed that public servants should assess themselves to see if they are really working, engaging in politics, or even vacationing.
She said the President has been doing just that, and engaging in “aksyon, aksyon, hindi bakasyon (action, action, not vacation).”
“It is right that every person, especially a public servant, should look himself in the mirror, and assess if he is working, doing politics or just on vacation,” Castro said in Filipino.
“President Marcos Jr., he knows where he is going, he knows what work should be done … all public servants are ordered to work, avoid politics,” she added.
She also brushed off Duterte’s claim she was just been defending herself whenever she answers remarks against her, saying she should review her statements like criticism against the P20 per kilo rice program.
“She criticized this project of the President, the P20 rice, along with many other things that are not even issues concerning the President or the government,” Castro said.
Castro, on the elder Duterte’s last wish, said it is a “family matter.’
The vice president on Monday said her father has expressed his final wishes to prepare his family in case he dies in detention in the Netherlands.
“He said that if he dies here in the Netherlands, he does not want his body to be brought back to the Philippines. He wants to be cremated here and only his ashes will be brought home,” she said.
Duterte earlier said her father’s weight loss has been severe and he is now “skin and bones.” – With Jocelyn Reyes
