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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Shhh,' Locsin tells VP Leni to keep quiet

'Shhh,' Locsin tells VP Leni to keep quiet

Published Feb 1, 2021 04:20 pm

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday delivered his most concise message yet to Vice President Leni Robredo in connection with her frequent jabs against the Duterte administration. 

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
(PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Shhhhhh, tumulong ka na lang (just extend your help),” Locsin said in a tweet. 
 
This came after the vice president urged the Duterte administration to stop being “defensive” on its sub-par quality of response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) crisis in the country. 
 
Cambridge dictionary defines the word shh as an exclamation word to tell someone to be quiet or to request silence. It originated from the 14th century Middle English word huisst (pronounced "wheesht"), meaning silence or peace.
 
Earlier, Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo rebuffed Robredo’s comment on the country’s poor showing in the global COVID-19 response index, telling the vice president to just do her job instead of resorting to publicity and “paawa effect” or self-pity.
 
In her radio program on Sunday, Robredo urged the Duterte administration to address its low ranking among countries evaluated for their COVID-19 response and try to learn from other countries.

"'Yung mga katabi nating bansa, may pandemya rin sa kanila. Lahat naman tayo, tinamaan ng pandemya. Pero bakit sila, mas maayos kaysa satin?" (Our neighbors are also dealing with the pandemic, but why is their COVID-19 response better than ours?), the vice president said. 

According to the Lowy Institute, an Australian think-tank, the Philippines placed 79th out of 98 nations assessed for their handling of the COVID-19 crisis. It is way behind some of its Southeast Asian neighbors like Vietnam (2nd), Thailand (4th), and Singapore (13th).

In June 2019, Locsin called the lady vice president as ‘boba’ (stupid) over the comment she made on the issue of the passport cancellation of former DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario. 

“Hey boba, that is precisely why I have ordered the cancellation of all courtesy diplomatic passports because I refuse to single out Del Rosario,” Locsin tweeted.
 
The DFA secretary, however, later apologized to Robredo. 
 

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