The county's leaders should be mature enough not to criticize others just because they are their political foes.

Manila 1st district Rep. Ernesto Ernix Dionisio had this to say Thursday, June 26 in reaction to Vice President Sara Duterte's tirade against President Marcos over his photo opportunities.

''You know, we have to be mature enough as leaders of this nation to look beyond kung ayaw mo ba o kalaban mo sa pulitika o hindi yung tao e (look beyond our dislike or whether or not the person is a rival in politics),'' Dionisio said.

''Pagki-criticize natin sa ibang leaders natin, it should be objective. Hindi yung para lang magtapon ka ng putik (When we crtiicize our other leaders, it should be objective. Don't do it just for the sake of mudslnging),'' underscored the Young Guns member.

''Ang problema kasi kapag nagki-criticize ka, kapag kalaban ka, wala kang sasabihing mabuti e. Let's be realistic, kapag ka walang nakitang picture, wala kang ginagawa, stubborn ka. Kapag may ginawa ka naman, ilabas mo sa press, photo-ops naman. Sa pula sa puti walang tama basta kalaban mo. Ganun talaga ang pulitika,'' Dionisio added.

(The problem is, when you're critical—when you're the foe, you won’t say anything good. Let’s be realistic, if there are no photos, they’ll say you’re doing nothing, that you’re just being stubborn. But if you do something and release it to the press, then it’s a photo op. Whether left or right, if you're the opponent, you're never right. That's just how politics works.)

Earlier, Vice President Duterte hit President Marcos for participating in photo ops during his inspection of nearly ₱8.9 billion worth of shabu recovered from northern Philippine waters.

According to the administration ally-turned-critic, Marcos was using such photo ops to hide the country’s true situation.

But Dionisio said Filipinos should be able to see through her rhetoric.

''So, I know, the Filipino people are very smart. We know who is doing their job, kung sino ang nagtatrabaho at hindi (who is doing their job and who isn't), who is sacrificing for our nation at kung sino ang hindi (and who isn’t). And these name-callings won't hold water,'' he said.

''So I do believe that, I hope that we could be mature enough as leaders of this nation to stop the politicking, to just be objective in criticizing our kapwa-lingkod bayan (fellow public servants) to the betterment of our country,'' he added.