Vice presidential aspirant and incumbent Senate President Tito Sotto, on Sunday, February 27, became the laughing stock for claiming that only his running-mate Sen. Ping Lacson was the only visible candidate in this pandemic.
Sotto tweeted, “Except for Ping, none of them worked or went to work during the lockdown. I know because I was there.”
Except for Ping, none of them worked or went to work during the lockdown. I know because i was there.
— Tito Sotto (@sotto_tito) February 27, 2022
As a result of Sotto’s tweet, filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone, young actor Elijah Canlas, and social media star Kerwin King–all shared the same laughing reaction.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhhHhaahahah https://t.co/bAtcAQJ7gn
— Toñet (@tonetjadaone) February 27, 2022
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA
— Elijah Canlas (@elijahcanlas_) February 27, 2022
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
— Kerwin King (@imkerwinking) February 27, 2022
Among the presidential candidates, incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo and Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso have been at the forefront of creating various programs to help Filipinos cope with the threat of Covid-19.
Furthermore, frontliners disagreed with Sotto’s remark.
A twitter personality pointed out that Robredo “was already on the ground prior [to] the onset ng lockdown. Preparing!”
Sen. Respectfully disagreeing with you. The Vice president was already on the ground prior the onset ng Lockdown. Preparing!
Paglockdown, ariba agad ang paLibre sakay. Sir acknowledge mo ang nagtrabaho din! https://t.co/kU69JPE4qc
— Doc Gorz (@DocGorz) February 27, 2022
Dr. Jai Cabajar also stressed that it was more of Robredo’s presence than Lacson’s.
As a doctor, I felt Leni’s presence more than any other politician. I know because I was under the PPE. https://t.co/levjaHIMFY
— Jai Cabajar (@jaicabajar) February 27, 2022
CNN Philippines G Talks host Dr. Gia Sison likewise testified how the VP “worked while the government slept.”
I witnessed first hand on-ground work done by VP Leni. She worked while the government slept. #10RobredoForPresident https://t.co/6Z6PwbrjZm
— Dr. Gia Sison (@giasison) February 27, 2022
A nurse has also witnessed how hands-on the VP was during the lockdown.
https://twitter.com/dianesarah/status/1497867148563140608
Twitter personality Roanne Carreon even shared how Robredo was busy distributing the locally-made personal protective equipment (PPEs) across the hospitals in the country. This was during the time when PPEs have been scarce and yet the VP managed to procure medical supplies for the frontliners.
lapagan ng resibo challenge pic.twitter.com/6unlJPPG2i
— Roanne Carreon (@racarreon) February 27, 2022
While others refuted the claim of Sotto, some flagged it as “misinformation.”
Reported this tweet as misinformation. https://t.co/wVefqj4erg
— Trysh Olives (@tryshdanielle) February 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/carloshconde/status/1497883316460023814
Patricia Bianca, another personality, highlighted the accomplishments of Robredo’s “Angat Buhay” Program amid the pandemic.
https://twitter.com/MariecurieVenus/status/1498508944355979267
In 2021, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spearheaded the Swab Cab Project to help curb the spread of the virus in communities with high levels of Covid-19 transmissions.
Robredo and her team also launched the Vaccine Express Project, which helped strengthen the vaccination drive of local governments.
After the realization that the healthcare system in the country was on the brink of collapse, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) created the Bayanihan E-Konsulta.
In 2020 alone, Robredo and her office put together a total of P505.3 million in assistance for COVID-19 response and another P35.06 million for disaster relief operations, including those for the eruption of Taal Volcano in January that year and the series of typhoons from October to November.
Meanwhile, Sotto and Lacson were at the Senate castigating the Department of Health’s (DOH) Covid-19 strategy, with the latter calling for the replacement of Health Secretary Fransisco Duque III.
Lacson was also trying to reopen the economy to solve the growing unemployment rate in the Philippines due to the epidemic.
Sotto, on the other hand, is leading the Senate. He was also one of the principal authors of Republic Act No. 11469 or the “Bayanihan Heal as One Act” among other bills that allowed Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to have additional authority to combat the pandemic.
