Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday the University of the Philippines (UP) experts do not deserve the remarks made against them by Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda who labeled them as “bayaran (paid hacks).”

Robredo said this in reaction to Antiporda’s statement even as he already apologized to the UP Marine Science Institute over his outburst last week.

“It is totally uncalled for,” she said on her weekly radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni.”

“The group doesn’t deserve the disrespect done to them. They were only doing their jobs,” Robredo stressed.

Antiporda lashed out at the UP marine scientists for criticizing the Manila white sand project and releasing their findings about dumping dolomite in the area.

While defending the project, the DENR official accused them of milking public funds from consultation services since 2016. He has since apologized to the UP community.

The vice president reminded her fellow public officials like Antiporda that they need to be careful in uttering words because they could set a bad example for others.

“Sana hindi ganito lalong lalo na public official iyong nagsabi (I hope this would not be the case, especially if the one who spoke was a public official),” Robredo said.

“Iyon nga paalala sa atin kahit nag-apologize na, tingin ko hindi talaga magandang example, hindi magandang pag-uugali kapag napipikon ka, nakakapagsabi ka ng mga bagay na dapat hindi mo sinasabi (This is a reminder to us even after he apologized, I think it is not a good example and attitude if you’re annoyed, you tend to say things that you should not be saying),” she added.

Robredo emphasized the roles of scientists in assisting the government by doing research in partnerships with its agencies.

“All of the research would entail expenses,” she said. “We know how important these recommendations made by the scientists and experts in that field.”