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Did Duterte attack Isko Moreno? Palace spokesman says did not hear President doing so
Did Duterte attack Isko Moreno? Palace spokesman says did not hear President doing so
ABS-CBN News
Published Aug 12, 2021 02:25 PM PHT
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Updated Aug 12, 2021 02:38 PM PHT
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno speaks to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque during a ceremonial launch of the vaccination program for seafarers at the Palacio de Maynila in Manila on June 17, 2021. Around 1,200 doses of the US-made vaccine Pfizer from the COVAX facility were allocated by the city government for the vaccination of seafarers. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman on Thursday said he did not hear the Chief Executive hurl any tirade at Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, despite insults that some believe were directed at the Philippine capital's leader.
Duterte on Monday scored an unnamed mayor for "bikini" photos and what he said was training as a "call boy." Some believe he was referring to Moreno, a former actor who had sexy roles.
Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc said Moreno was perceived as a "threat" to the supposed Duterte dynasty ahead of the 2022 elections, where some are pushing the President's daughter Davao City Mayor Duterte-Carpio to run as his successor.
"Wala po akong narinig na pagbabatikos laban kay Mayor Isko na nanggaling sa bibig ni Presidente," Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in response to the left-wing lawmakers.
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(I did not hear any insult against Mayor Isko that came from the President's mouth.)
If the President’s tirades were not about Isko Moreno, who was Duterte referring to?
"I will leave it at what the President said," Roque said in a press briefing. "As I said, I am only a spokesperson. I cannot rise above my source, and the President is my source."
Pressed if the President would name who he was referring to, his spokesman said, "That's up to him."
Video courtesy of PTV
The President on Monday also stripped an unnamed city of the authority to distribute lockdown cash aid to its residents because of its disorderly COVID-19 vaccination drive.
Manila last week suffered chaos after thousands flocked to vaccination sites. Some of those who queued wrongly believed that they would be barred from going out or getting cash aid without anti-coronavirus jabs.
The Palace has denied that the inoculation mess could be blamed on Duterte, who on July 28 said barangay officials should bar unvaccinated people from leaving their homes.
Moreno on Tuesday said Manila would distribute the cash aid from government and it has already downloaded the funds from the national government.
The interior department just last June awarded Manila a certificate of recognition for efficient and timely distribution of financial aid, noted Makabayan lawmakers.
"It is disgraceful that Pres. Duterte resorted to personal attacks against Mayor Isko not because the LGU chief has failed in his work, but because he is perceived by the president as a threat to his plan of having a Duterte Dynasty by 2022," the bloc said in a statement.
Moreno, 46, tied in second place with 2 other potential candidates for president in a pre-election survey that Pulse Asia released in July. Duterte-Carpio topped the poll.
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