A Palace official said on Saturday that it has no time to answer Vice President Jejomar Binay’s criticism that Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II failed as a leader and a manager in delivering basic human needs and empathy to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.
In an interview, Presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the Aquino camp will not waste its energy to answer his criticisms especially now that presidential elections is seven months away from now.
“We don’t want to stoop down to take that kind of bait because it’s almost election time. So we don’t want to give them time of day that way,” Valte said in Filipino on a radio interview over state-owned Radyo ng Bayan.
“I think it would be better if voters would just listen to where they are taking this country, and why they should be rightful elected, rather than insulting or trying to bring down their opponent,” Valte said.
She said that Roxas has long answered public criticism about his actions during and after the disastrous typhoon struck in November 2013 and his camp is no longer inclined to reiterate his answers.
“Never mind, Yolanda is an old issue and it has been repeatedly answered. Now, they are again trying to revive it and we already know that that is because of the election,” she said.
Valte made the remark after Binay said on Friday that Roxas proved himself to be an irrelevant leader during and after Super Typhoon Yolanda because of his failure to deliver the basic needs of the people it affected.
Yolanda killed around 7,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands when it hit Eastern Visayas on Nov. 8, 2013. It was the strongest storm to hit land in history.
“The performance of Roxas during Super Typhoon Yolanda and the days immediately after has exposed his failure as a manager and a leader,” Binay spokesman Rico Quicho said in a statement.
“Yolanda has shown to the people the extent, or rather the limits, of Secretary Roxas’ executive capability,” he said.
But Binay himself had already moved to other matters on Saturday and expressed concern at the rising number of dengue cases in the country.
Binay said a report from the Department of Health showed that over 55,000 dengue cases have been recorded as of Aug. 8 this year, 9.15 percent higher than the cases recorded during the same period in 2014.
“Let us all unite in the fight against dengue. Let us do our part by keeping our surroundings clean and dry always, especially this rainy season,” Binay said.
“We call on residents to join hands with their neighbors, community leaders and local officials in cleaning up the surroundings to get rid of breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” he added.
The Vice President claimed that even his eldest grandchild and son of Senator Nancy Binay, Boogie, has also fallen ill with dengue fever and is undergoing treatment.
“No one is safe; anyone is at risk, regardless of age or economic status. Dengue is a serious disease that has already claimed a number of lives, many of whom are children,” Binay said.
“The numbers may continue to rise if our citizens remain passive and let government deal with the problem on its own,” he added.
The Vice President also appealed to the more than 355,000 households that will be affected by a prolonged water supply disruption in Metro Manila to observe proper water storage and keep their containers clean and tightly covered.
He also urged parents and teachers to watch out for dengue symptoms in their children and students in order to catch the disease early and so that the children can be brought to the nearest health facility for treatment.
“Let us all help, in every way possible, in disseminating accurate information about dengue—its causes, symptoms and cure. Together, we can achieve dengue-free communities throughout the country,” he added.