Andronico Del Rosario
“Do not add fuel to the fire.”
In a time-tested move by President Rodrigo Duterte whenever criticisms are hurled at his administration, he firesdback at his critics with his brash brand of politics—even if it is Vice President Leni Robredo.
“Itong sinasabi ni Leni na kung ‘di gawin ng gobyerno, gagawin ng tao… panahon ito ng pandemic, desperado ang tao… dadagdag kayo, wala naman kayo basehan,” Duterte said during an address recorded on Monday, August 24 and aired on Tuesday, August 25.
“Do not add fuel to the fire. You will just destroy the government,” he added.
Presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo chimed in, saying that Robredo is “trying to undermine the government in managing the crisis.”
He also said Robredo’s speech is a “theatrical pretense” that was more suited for the stage.
This stemmed from the Vice President’s 20-minute speech that pointed out how Filipinos are losing confidence in the government, and how it has been emphasized during the pandemic.
Netizens were quick to take the side of Robredo, including celebrities and columnists. Comments ranged from poking fun at the President’s suggestion to use gasoline as a last-ditch disinfectant to outright rage.
May fuel pa po ba? Akala ko ubos na kasi pinangbabad sa face masks. 😷 https://t.co/fdRuzBQUFd
— NVG 🌸💚 (@nikkivaldez_) August 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/Richeydarian/status/1297895469176074241
https://twitter.com/agot_isidro/status/1298078792515121152
President Duterte should just resign and retire. He's unfit to lead, sick, incompetent, tuta ng Tsena, and defender of corrupt officials he has refused to fire.
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) August 25, 2020
Bawal daw mag-public address si VP Leni?
Nagnakaw ba si VP Leni? Nagmura ba siya, nambastos, nagbanta?
Bakit magiging bawal ang pakikisimpatya sa bayan? Ang dapat ibawal yung pangulong bigla-biglang hindi magpaparamdam.
— Ogie Rosa (@ogie_rosa) August 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/raymondnaguit/status/1298067167246553089
"Don't add fuel to the fire" e ikaw tong nag-promote ng gasolina. https://t.co/lDI7KZEaSR
— Hazel Nutella (@1nutty_hazel) August 25, 2020
One celebrity, however, took things to a different level. In a now-deleted Facebook post, former sexy star Vivian Velez dissected the Vice President’s “set” and called it “the worst political branding”.
Binatikos ni Vivian Velez ang ginawang public address ni Vice President Leni Robredo kahapon.
Posted by News5 on Monday, August 24, 2020
She even compared Robredo’s look to Ms. Tapia, the school teacher from popular ’80s sitcom Iskul Bukol.
Netizens were quick to pounce on Velez, calling her out for being the “boba” one as well as bringing up one of her claims to fame—her infamous Betamax scandal.
As of this writing, the name Vivian Velez has been used in over 2,600 tweets.
