Another failure is what other celebrities and personalities see on President Rodrigo Duterte’s response on the Typhoon Ulysses that badly hit the country.
Criticisms are pouring on the Twitter Community from various celebrities, one of whom is Kapamilya artist Ria Atayde, who stressed that the demand for presence is not what people need, but what is more important in this situation is the strong contingency plan.
“It’s not about physical presence. It’s about coming up with a contingency plan and ensuring that everyone is okay and provided for. It’s about being proactive. It’s about fulfilling duties.”
It’s not about physical presence. It’s about coming up with a contingency plan and ensuring that everyone is okay and provided for. It’s about being proactive. It’s about fulfilling duties.
— Ria Atayde (@RiaAtayde) November 12, 2020
Former ‘Idol Philippines’ contestant Miguel Odron also stressed the energy and perseverance President Duterte had to shut down ABS CBN network but when it comes to responses on disaster and natural calamities the President seems nowhere to be found,
“This man has bullied congress into giving him the power to reallocate government funds, he has enough power to influence the shut down of the biggest network in the country. bakit ang tamad when he’s actually needed? nakakakulo ng dugo.”
https://twitter.com/MiguelOdron/status/1326801787114803200?s=20
DJ Jhaiho, who retweeted Ria Atayde’s tweet, also recounted President Duterte’s different and non-accountability responses.
“Totoo hindi yung una Kakain ng abo. iihi sa bulkan. tas ngayon Lalangoy sa baha. Aaat kumapit tayo ah. andaming proud na proud padin sa mga chika. JUSKWA! 🤦🏻 asaan ang PUSO? asaaaaaaan nakaka galit na talaga.”
https://twitter.com/mor1019jhaiho/status/1326793835524083717?s=20
Duterte announced that he was actually intending to swim in floodwaters, but for health reasons, the PSG Presidential Security Group was the one who stopped him from leaving and visiting areas affected by the attack of Typhoon Ulysses.
“Binabawalan ako ng ng nagbabantay sa akin: PSG, lahat, doktor. Hindi ako makalabas. Sabi ko naman gusto kong magpakita sa tao, ang sabi nila bantayan yung pagkatao ko. Kasi ako yung Presidente,” Duterte said.
The President said that if he had his way, he would “swim” into the floods only to visit typhoon-affected Filipinos, some of whom had barely recovered from Super Typhoon Rolly’s recent attack earlier this month.
“Gusto kong lumabas, gusto kong lumangoy; matagal na akong hindi naligo eh. Kaya lang, ayaw nitong mga sundalo. Sila ang ayaw maligo ibig sabihin.”
https://twitter.com/nothaneul_jin/status/1326759186542292993?s=20
This wasn’t the first time Duterte trended for his absence. In the aftermath of Typhoon Rolly, Kapuso actress Chynna Ortaleza was one of those who also looked for the President.
After the President skipped the first high-level public briefing on Super Typhoon Rolly, said to be the world’s strongest storm this year, #NasaanAngPangulo first became a trending subject online earlier this month.
In Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, Typhoon Ulysses triggered extreme flooding, which some officials said was comparable to the attack on Ondoy in September 2009.
On the Twitter account of Chynna, she stressed one of the importance of looking for the President during the Typhoon, she wanted to hear specific orders coming from the President even though he is not physically present, “No I am not expecting anyone from government to try to stop the storm physically. I was looking for the President yesterday because I needed to hear clear directives coming from him. Kahit wala siya sa briefing- a statement.. a phone patch.. that would have been enough.”
No I am not expecting anyone from government to try to stop the storm physically. I was looking for the President yesterday because I needed to hear clear directives coming from him. Kahit wala siya sa briefing- a statement.. a phone patch.. that would have been enough.
— Chynna Ortaleza (@ChynsOrtaleza) November 2, 2020
