Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday, October 5, praised President Rodrigo Duterte’s sustained high ratings as he scoffed at Vice President Leni Robredo’s performance in the first major nationwide survey during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Roque opened his regular press briefing on Monday by thanking Filipinos for their continued trust in Duterte, whose performance rating rose to 91% in September 2020. 

Duterte’s spokesman then contrasted this with opposition leader and Vice President Robredo, who he characterized as being “far fourth” with her trust rating of 50% and performance rating of 57%. 

Roque said: “Naku, Madame VP, mukhang tama ang aking sinabi – ayaw ata ng mga Pilipino sa mga namumulitika sa panahon ng pandemya. Subukan natin itigil ang pulitika, baka po tumaas nang mas mataas sa 50% ang trust rating at mataas po sa 57% ang performance rating.”

(Goodness, Madame VP, it looks like what I’ve been saying is true – Filipinos do not like those politicking during the pandemic. Maybe stop the politics, and your trust rating might go higher than 50% and your performance rating higher than 57%.)

Roque was referring to the two leaders’ performance in Pulse Asia’s September 2020 survey – the first major poll to be conducted over half a year since the Philippines implemented lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

The survey defied expectations that Duterte’s ratings will plummet, as US President Donald Trump’s popularity did, due to his mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis. It reflected, however, a similar phenomenon in Brazil, where populist Jair Bolsonaro recently got his highest rating even if Brazil has recorded the world’s highest number of coronavirus deaths.

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Like Duterte, Roque had repeated earlier criticism hurled against Robredo by the President. Duterte earlier blasted Robredo for saying the government has not done enough to address the coronavirus as he taunted her to “spray pesticide” all over the country. 

The Vice President earlier earned Duterte’s ire after saying she and all other Filipinos had the right to call out the lapses of the Duterte government and make suggestions to address them. 

But while Duterte and his allies have criticized Robredo, the opposition leader has also earned wide praise for running COVID-19 programs despite her office’s measly budget.

On Monday, Robredo spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said Roque’s comments only proved how the Vice President continued to perform despite politicking done against her. 

“Tama naman. Kaya nga karamihan pa rin ng ating mga kababayan suportado pa rin si VP Leni. Malinaw kasi na kahit katiting ang budget ng opisina, patuloy ang panlalait at paninira, at panay ang pagpakalat ng fake news sa Facebook laban sa kanya – nagtratrabaho pa rin siya para sa kapakanan ng marami,” Gutierrez said. 

(That’s true. That’s why most of our countrymen still support VP Leni. It’s clear that even with a small budget, continued criticism, and spreading of fake news on Facebook against her – she still works for the benefit of others.)

Gutierrez thanked Filipinos who continued to support Robredo’s efforts to help those affected by the pandemic. – Rappler.com