Robredo camp tells presidential counsel Panelo to 'get his facts straight' after free-riding remark

MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo's camp on Tuesday said President Rodrigo Duterte's legal counsel should "get his facts straight" after he accused her of free-riding on the government's response to typhoon Ulysses.

Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo on Monday said Robredo used a government plane when she visited typhoon-hit Catanduanes province.

"Sumabay ka doon sa mga relief goods. O, 'di parang ikaw ang may dala noon," he alleged in his talk show aired on state-owned People’s Television network.

(You went with the relief goods, and made it appear they were yours.)

Robredo did not use a C-130 plane when she brought aid to Bicol, her home region, said her spokesman Atty. Barry Gutierrez.

"Secretary Panelo should get his facts straight," Gutierrez said in a statement.

"Nakakalungkot lang, tumutulong si VP Leni sa mga tinamaan ng bagyo at baha, at imbes na suporta, paninira at kasinungalingan ang binabato. Ano ba ang mga ito, lingkod bayan o troll?" he added.

(It is just sad that VP Leni is helping victims of the typhoon and flood, and instead of support, accusations and lies are hurled. What is he, a public servant or troll?)

Robredo earlier lamented the disaster council's “lack of urgency” in dispatching immediate relief to Cagayan, where residents fled to their rooftops to escape 2-story high floods in the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses last week. Her office facilitated rescue efforts there and distributed relief aid to various areas.

The weather disturbances that lashed the Philippines weeks prior to Ulysses also caused devastation in the Bicol region.

[BOLD] RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv Vice President Leni Robredo shares her observations and the needs in Catanduanes and Albay on Nov. 3, 2020 after visiting the two provinces that day following the onslaught of super Typhoon Rolly. Video Courtesy of VP Leni Robredo's Facebook page.