President Duterte brushed aside the criticisms about his administration's response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, saying it was a classic case of painting another person black so they would appear white.
Duterte made the statement as several lawmakers raised questions about the loans for vaccine procurement.
In his weekly public address on Monday evening, President Duterte said the criticisms against the government were nothing new.
"That's the classic case of if you want to appear white, you paint the other guy black. Para ang labas mo, puting-puti ka (So that you will appear to be very white)," he said.
"Ganoon 'yan, eh. Style bulok (It's like that. They're out of style)," he added.
During the same event, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque pointed out that many people are politicizing the pandemic because of the coming elections next year.
He asked the critics of the President to just help address the pandemic.
"Kung meron pa pong konsensiyang natitira yung mga nais manalo na desperadong manalo ay sana po tumulong na lang po sila (If those desperate to win the elections have any conscience left, please just help us)," Roque said.
"Magbigay ng solusyon sa problemang ito, kaysa pinagsasamantalahan po ang pandemya para sa kanilang selfish political gains (Help find solutions to this problem instead of taking advantage of the pandemic for your selfish political gains)," he added.
Malacañang has repeatedly stated that the government would rather focus on addressing the pandemic instead of talking about politics, particularly the 2022 presidential elections.