In a lengthy post on Instagram, actor Robin Padilla attacked Vice President Leni Robredo over the latter’s statement regarding the President being too sensitive about criticisms.
This was after Robredo released a statement that the president is ”onion-skinned”. This was the result of Duterte accusing the Vice President of starting an online trend calling out government’s supposed inadequate disaster response.
This prompted the actor who supports the president to retaliate against the Vice President.
Robin said, “Criticism is different from black propaganda. Ang pagpuna po sa ginagawa ng gobyerno ay karapatan po ng sinoman pilipino. Ang hindi po katanggap tanggap ay ang paggawa ng mga hindi totoong kwento para siraan ang isang tao.”
However, the criticism that Duterte received during the onslaught of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses were not black propaganda. Filipinos only observed what the government actually had done: no plan, late briefing, no presence felt, and many more. These observations made by those who were actually concerned about the welfare of the affected residents of Cagayan Valley and other affected areas made them question what the government is doing. It was all over the news. There was never a hint of false accusations regarding the hate that the president is receiving right now.
He continued, “…pero wag po kayo mag alala hindi naman marunong mapikon si mayor PRRD lalo na po kung galing sa mga Kulang sa Pansin ang banat nagsisilbi na lang po na Charity yun ni mayor sa mga naiinggit sa kanya para naman kahit paano ay sumaya sila.”
Contrary to what the he said, the President, based on his actions and the way he spoke last Monday, he was really offended regarding the false accusations that Sec. Panelo told him. Duterte was indeed mad that Robredo ‘looked’ for him. She was actually busy extending her help to those affected and she never even mentioned that she was asking where the president was. Panelo would later apologize for falsely claiming Robredo for looking for the president since he did not do any fact checking before relaying the rumor to Duterte.
“Ang pinakamalinaw naman pong batayan o basehan ay Figures at Facts. Sa yolanda super typhoon po with full media coverage kasama na po ang cnn international na ang namamahala po ay partido po ninyo na LP. Lagpas po sa 15 libo ang namatay at nagdaan po ang buong termino ay wala naman pong tunay na rehabilitasyon na nangyari sa leyte,” Robin continued.
The figure and facts that the actor mentioned was the comparison between Typhoon Yolanda’s casualties from Rolly and Ulysses’. However, these natural phenomena were unexpected. No amount of preparation could save a country whenever nature takes its course. The casualties that Robin mentioned were irrelevant. What the people were looking was the actual action from the government, the presence of the leader in times of disaster. Former President Benigno Aquino III had a briefing days before Yolanda made contact. President Duterte conducted a meeting when Rolly already made its way in the Philippines, not to mention that he was unavailable during an emergency meeting.
“Ganon din po sa ondoy na mahigit isang daan ang namatay with full media coverage,” Robin said as he also included ABS-CBN in his post.
The comparison between casualties from previous typhoons with full media coverage is again included in his post against Robredo. During the onslaught of Ondoy, ABS-CBN conducted continuous media coverage and informed people what was happening. With the lost of the widest-reaching network, there was no other means for residents in remote areas to be updated. Even the Isabela governor admitted that they rely heavily on ABS-CBN’s Regional Group to get information.
Padilla continued his rant trying to prove a point. He said, “Kaya po madame vice president sa usapin po na ito hindi po si mayor ang balat sibuyas dahil malinaw po kay Rolly at Ulysses na mas naging handa ang lahat ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno dahil ang mga nadisgrasya po at namatay ay higit na mas mababa ang bilang. Ang suliranin po sa marikina ay hindi na mareresolba ng pagbibigay ng relief lang. mass evacuation na po ang kailangan na don dahil wala naman po kasing naging malinaw na city planning o urban planning sa metro manila. Isang napakatandang problema na po yan kasingtanda ng bulok na sistema ng gobyerno na pinipilit nating gumana kahit gutay gutay na. Ang problema naman po sa rizal ay kasingtanda na rin ng gobyerno pa ng kastila walang tigil ang illegal logging sa rizal hanggang quezon abot hanggang bicol…”
However, people were seeking help and they needed resources to keep their hopes up as they wait for rescuers. Evacuation was extremely difficult. With their food, clothes, and other properties submerged, they needed supplies to survive while they stand by. Also, the illegal logging and quarrying were already brought up by the late Gina Lopez on which the government did nothing.
And lastly, he suggested that the government be changed to federal system.
In the last paragraph of his IG post he said, “Change the unitary form of government to Federal para po makita natin talaga at mai angat natin ng may katotohanan at walang pangbobola ang BICOL at ang iba pang mga probinsya na lagi na lamang umaasa sa Kapagyarihan ng Imperial Manila.”
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Unfortunately it is not that easy. Switching from Unitary to Federal could take years of deliberation because it involves the Constitution being amended as a whole not to mention that it involves a lot of money. And with the pandemic which impacted the economy of the Philippines, the debt of the country as of June 2020, is ₱8.6 trillion and its Domestic debt is ₱5.86 trillion. Therefore, changing the form of the government is impossible.
