Opposition Senator Francis ‘’Kiko’’ Pangilinan, president of the 75-year-old Liberal Party (LP), issued the statement in response to President Duterte’s rants against Robredo on the COVID-19 issue.

‘’ Simula’t simula pa, siya nga ang walang pagod sa kakatulong at kakahanap ng solusyon sa pesteng Covid (The Vice President has been tirelessly trying to find solution to the COVID-19 problem),’’ Pangilinan said.

‘’Tularan na lang kaya nila si VP, tutukan nang husto ang pagsugpo sa Covid para hindi tayo kulelat sa buong Asya. Eye on the ball, ‘ika nga’ (They should follow the lead of the Vice President in trying to the COVID-19 problem so that the Philippines is not the tailender in Asia. Eye on the ball),’’ he pointed out.

Pangilinan said the administration should focus on the letter ‘’V’’ which stands for ‘virus’’ but not on the VP (Vice President).

“He (President Duterte) should just focus on addressing the poor response to Covid, rising hunger, and the high prices of food,” he added.

Earlier, President Duterte dared Robredo to do vaccine-shopping outside the country, adding that he would finance her purchases in case she manages to find and buy some vials.

Duterte’s latest rant on Robredo comes after the latter called for further reviews on Chinese government-donated vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech, which arrived on Sunday and was administered earlier, as it would be used for health workers and frontliners.

Robredo said in her Sunday radio program that Sinovac’s vaccine should undergo the right process to ensure that health workers are protected, especially as it has not secured any recommendation from the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC).

Duterte told Robredo that there are no vaccines for the asking or paying for them or even stealing them.

‘This is not solely a problem for the Philippines, as stated in the worldwide situation for vaccines.  They are also struggling,’’ he said in Filipino.