Senator Richard J. Gordon on Thursday, August 12 said it was ‘’unpresidential’’ for President Duterte to call a mayor in Metro Manila a ‘’call boy.’’
During a CNN Philippines TV interview, Gordon advised President Duterte to come out respectable in political scrimmages.
Duterte did not identify the mayor but Twitter had posted young men in their ‘’briefs’’ who have become celebrities or government personalities like Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.
Gordon said the President should not react by naming his political enemies names but simply yank him out of office if he can.
‘’Huwag takutin (Don’t dare or challenge him),’’ Gordon stressed, adding that the Department of Health (DOH) should address the issue which is a recent pile up people wanting to be vaccinated in Manila.
A film clip of a tightly-packed crowd at the entrance of SM San Lazaro had raise fears of COVID-19 infection.
People milled at the mall entrance waiting to be vaccinated lest they may not be given financial assistance during the current Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
Gordon also said that government officials should reduce political gimmickries on the vaccination issue and should not ‘’patulan’’ (don’t react to slights).
‘’Criticisms about a political rival should be about their ability as a public servant and not potshots based on his past,’’ Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla said in defending Moreno.
Aksyon Demokratiko Secetary General Ernest Ramel has just confirmed that Moreno was elected Aksyon Demokratiko president during virtual elections on August 10.
Moreno appears to harbor presidential ambitions while President Duterte also appears to be amenable to running for Vice President in the 2022 elections after his six-year term as President expires in June 2022.
During the CNN interview, Gordon looked hale and hearty following a COVID-19 pneumonia after he was recently found COVID-19 positive.
He had himself treated at the Makati Medical Center based on his physician’s advice. He suspected that an office janitor infected him although the janitor wore a face mask while was not.
Gordon, an asymptomatic, had been fully vaccinated with Astrazeneca.