ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Lugaw si Leni': Densing admits reference to VP; launches fresh tirades

'Lugaw si Leni': Densing admits reference to VP; launches fresh tirades

Published Apr 1, 2021 02:21 pm

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Usec. Epimaco Densing III admitted Thursday, April 1 that the "Lugaw" person that he was alluding to was indeed Vice President Leni Robredo.

DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III (FACEBOOK/ MANILA BULLETIN)

"Yes. Lugaw si Leni (Leni is Lugaw)," Densing told this reporter in a message.

On top of his admission, the DILG undersecretary for operations also launched fresh tirades against Robredo amid the viral online discussions on whether or not lugaw--that is, the food item--is essential.

“She has been a non-essential in this fight against COVID (coronavirus disease). Unfounded comments on IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force),’’ he said, obviously using some word-play.

Densing chided “Lugaw’’ for her supposed false claims and criticisms against the government, particularly the IATF, which allegedly failed to consult with local government units (LGUs) before implementing quarantine protocols.

"Before these protocols were issued, the LGUs and mayors were consulted," he said, refuting opposition leader Robredo.

The NCR-plus composed of the NCR (National Capital Region), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal is currently under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) as a result of the alarming surge in new coronavirus disease COVID-19 cases.

Densing further said that Lugaw has been irrelevant in the country’s fight against COVID-19, and has made it appear that the government failed to enforce appropriate protocols during the year-long public health crisis.

In the end he advised Robredo to simply help in "unifying the nation" during this time of the pandemic.

"All she needed to do was support ," Densing said.

Social media users called out the DILG official Wednesday night after he gave the following comment on the viral #LugawIsEssential video: “Sabi niya kasi, non-essential si lugaw. Hindi talaga essential si lugaw. Pero kung sinabi niya, essential ang lugaw, ‘yun, tama ‘yun. Ang lugaw. Pero si lugaw ang binanggit niya. Non-essential talaga ‘yun sa pananaw namin (What she said is lugaw is non-essential. Lugaw is really non-essential. But if she said that lugaw is essential, that’s right. The lugaw. But she referred to lugaw. Lugaw is really non-essential in our opinion).”

Although Densing didn't mention Robredo, netizens believed that he was attacking her by using her "Lugaw" moniker.

Internet trolls have been calling Robredo “Lugaw Queen” or “Leni Lugaw” ever since pictures of her campaign team selling rice porridge spread online during the campaign period in 2016. 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.