VP Sara Duterte: State of the nation is ‘dire, sad, frustrating'
San Fernando City, Pampanga —Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday lamented the state of the Philippines under the administration of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.
'The state of the nation is dire, it is sad, and for me personally, it is frustrating,' Duterte said at a press conference after confirming that she will not be attending Marcos' fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28.
She said that she gets embarrassed as a Filipino thinking that other countries are seeing the current state of the country.
Duterte also seemingly got annoyed at criticisms about her recent travels abroad, explaining that she is not using public funds when she is on personal trips.
'Hindi kasi nila naiintindihan…hindi ko alam kung sinasadya nila na ayaw intindihin o talagang bobo lang talaga ang nasa administrasyon. I'd likely lean doon sa latter," she said.
(They don't understand...I don't know if they're deliberately trying not to understand or if the administration is just really stupid. I'd likely lean towards the latter.)
This, as Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro last Friday questioned if Duterte's travel to Australia was personal or for the country.
The Vice President emphasized that she is only utilizing public funds when her travel is 'official' because it means that she is formally traveling for her work at the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
'Hindi ibig sabihin na personal na lakad 'yan ay holiday o pamamasyal 'yan. 'Yun ang ibig sabihin ng personal—walang ginamit na pera ng gobyerno sa lakad na ito pero nagtatrabaho pa rin ako,' she said.
(It doesn't mean that if I'm on a personal trip, I'm already on holiday or just sightseeing. Personal trip means no government funds were used on the trip, but I'm still working.)
'Kung hindi sila bobo, maiintindihan nila 'yung ginagawa ko. Bobo kasi sila eh kaya hindi nila naiintindihan. Umupo sila, tignan nila. Hindi ko sasabihin kung ano ginagawa ko. I don't like talking about how I think and what I think, so kung meron silang gusto basahin doon, good luck,' she added.
(If they weren't stupid, they would understand what I'm doing. They're stupid, so they don't understand. Better sit down and watch what I do. I won't tell them what I'm doing. I don't like talking about how I think and what I think, so if they want to think something else, good luck.)
Pro-China?
Duterte also shrugged off allegations that her family is pro-Duterte, saying that she is not pro any country at all.
'Hindi nila dapat nila ako pinapasagot kung pro-China ako. Sagutin niya ang tanong ko: Where is the independent foreign policy that is required by the Constitution? Where is it right now? Explain to the Filipino people how you are going to implement your independent foreign policy,' she said.
'Matagal na nilang narrative na pro-China ako. I am not pro any country at all. Ang sinasabi ko lagi, we need to develop, we need to maintain, and we need to level up our relations with all countries, hindi lang sa China,' she added.
(They've been using that 'I am pro-China' narrative for a long time now. I am not pro any country at all. What I always say is that we need to develop, we need to maintain, and we need to level up our relations with all countries, not just China.)
The Vice President was reacting to the statement of Castro on Tuesday, saying that Marcos already expected her criticisms on how the government is handling the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
'The President said, 'We expect that from the Dutertes because they are pro-China. At ang Pangulo po ay pro-Filipinos (The President is pro-Filipinos),'' Castro said.
Duterte also expressed frustration about what the Marcos administration is currently doing, saying that it needs to ensure that the lives of Filipinos are really improving beyond the photos.
'Hindi trabaho ng Presidente ang mag-photo op sa nahuli na drugs at mag-photo op sa pagsira ng drugs,' she said.
(It is not the job of the President to do a photo opportunity when drugs are seized and when they are being destroyed.)
Marcos earlier on Wednesday witnessed the destruction of P9,484,134,038.62 worth of dangerous drugs at the Clean Leaf International Corporation in Tarlac province.
GMA News Online has reached out to Malacanang for its reaction.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
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