By Argyll Cyrus Geducos Malacañang said President Duterte's defending Vice President Leni Robredo for asking for donations for health workers was proof of the Chief Executive's intolerance to arrogant and abusive officials. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after Duterte fired Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Manuelito Luna for calling on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe Robredo for supposedly competing with the government in its efforts to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). "The firing of PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna by PRRD... demonstrates the President’s intolerance to abusive, arrogant and incompetent government officials, apart from the corrupt ones, as well as consistent with his decisive action against errant public servants," he said. Panelo said Duterte's call for everybody, regardless of political beliefs, to cooperate in the government’s efforts to stop the spread of the disease, is not a meaningless appeal. "Those who respond to call for unity and cooperation must be encouraged and commended instead of being harassed by subjecting them to a mindless government intrusion that smacks of partisan action," he said. "Only the Bayanihan spirit of every Filipino lending hand to each other can make this nation survive and prevail over this scourge of a disease," he added. On Friday, Duterte said he fired Luna after hearing the reports of his request to the NBI. He said Robredo did nothing wrong when she asked for donations to help health workers. "Nung narinig ko sinabi ko (That's why when I heard it, I said), 'Fire him.' As of this moment, he is no longer connected with government," he said. "Ako, panahon ng i-criticize ko si Leni (I once criticized her), sometimes the language that I use is very... Pero itong panahon na ito na wala namang kasalanan ang Vice President, nag-ano nga na mag-tulong, bakit ipa-imbestiga (But this time, the Vice President did nothing wrong. She even asked for help. Why would you want her investigated)?" he added. The President even warned the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that they will likewise be dismissed if they will launch an investigation on Robredo. On Wednesday, Luna said the Office of the Vice President's free shuttle service, a dormitory for health workers, donation of personal protective equipment (PPEs) were aimed to "compete with" or "calculated to undermine" the government's response to COVID-19. However, he said, it was up to the NBI if they will heed his call or not. PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica immediately refuted Luna's statement, saying the former commissioner was acting on his own. He even thanked Robredo for stepping up and helping the frontliners. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)#