#NasaanAngPangulo: Duterte says aides barred him from going to typhoon victims Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News Updated as of Nov 12 2020 02:44 PM
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday aides had barred him from going to victims of Typhoon Ulysses, after critics called out his absence during the calamity that has left at least one person dead, while some residents still awaited rescue on their rooftops due to rising floods.
Duterte earlier Thursday attended a virtual summit of Southeast Asian leaders, while the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo (where is the President?) trended on Twitter as people noted his absence while several parts of Luzon bore Ulysses' lashing.
The President said he has left the summit. However, he said, his doctor and the Presidential Security Group advised him against going out in public.
"Gusto kong pumunta doon, makipaglangoy nga sa inyo. Ang problema pinipigilan ako, kasi raw 'pag namatay ako, isa lang ang Presidente," he said in a televised speech.
(I want to go there, swim with you. The problem is I was being stopped because they said if I die, there is only one President.)
"Ang sabi ko eh may Vice President naman. Wala naman silang sinasagot, nagtitinginan lang sila, tapos 'Hindi--hindi ka puwedeng mamatay nitong panahon na ito. Kung malunod ka, malulunod kaming lahat na nagtatrabaho sa'yo,'" he added.
(I told them there is a Vice President. They did not answer, they just looked at each other and said, 'No, you cannot die at this time. If you drown, all of us working for you will drown, too.') In late October, #NasaanAngPangulo also gained online traction following Duterte's absence from a Cabinet-level briefing on Super Typhoon Rolly, which left a trail of devastation in several Bicol and Southern Luzon provinces.
"May mga nagsabi na walang ginawa, tutulog... wala kaming tulog dito," said Duterte.
(There are people saying nothing was done, we were sleeping. We had no sleep here.)
_________________ “YESTERDAY IS HISTORY, TOMORROW A MYSTERY, AND TODAY A GIFT…THAT’S WHY IT IS CALLED THE PRESENT “.
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