La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

House Assistant Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V says Vice President Sara Duterte shouldn't blame the national government for every "personal concern" that she has.

Ortega, a member of the House "Young Guns" bloc, gave this statement in a press conference Wednesday, Aug. 21. 

The Ilocano was reacting to Vice President Duterte's negative reaction to her photo being taking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last month as she left for Germany with her family at the height of Typhoon "Carina". 

Vice President Duterte reportedly raised concerns over her privacy and even criticized the supposedly lax security at the airport. 

For Ortega, the lady official's concerns were more personal in nature, as opposed to a public concern shared by many Filipinos. 

"Parang personal concern e. Parang may special treatment ka na nga as a Vice President. Kulang pa ba yon? Parang kulang pa ba?" he asked sarcastically. 

(It's more of a personal concern. You already get special treatment as a Vice President. Isn't that enough?) 

"So, hindi naman pwede lahat ng maliliit na problema o personal concern mo, sisisihin mo ang national government for its shortcomings or inadequacy," Ortega said. 

(You cannot blame the national government for its shortcomings or inadequacy everytime you have a small problem personal concern.) 

"Para sa akin tingin ko (For me, I think) it's more of a personal concern," insisted the ranking congressman. 

The Vice President ended up being criticized in and out of Congress as a result of her leaving the Philippines in the middle of a typhoon and massive flooding.

'It's a public place' 

Joining Ortega in Wednesday’s press conference were Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo City lone district Janette Garin and Assistant Majority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong. 

The two underscored that the airport was a public place; thus, interactions with the public were unavailable. 

“It’s a public place…Siyempre kilala siya, sikat sila. Bakit di pupunta yan. 'Ma'am makiki-picture naman (Of course they're famous, they're famous. Why wouldn't they go there. 'Ma'am can we have a picture with you).' It's something that is expected in a public place,” Garin said. 

“Once you enter into public service," Adiong noted, "You somehow surrender a certain degree of privacy, unfortunately. And that's been the problem not only of one individual public official but it is actually shared by all of us." 

“Once you do enter into this kind of service, you automatically--deliberately or not--share your life to the public and the public will also enjoy a certain--I don't know if it's imaginative--a certain power over you, that whatever you do, either publicly or privately, they tend to feel that they have a right to know everything that you do,” he added.