Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro pushed back Tuesday against Vice President Sara Duterte’s public attacks on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the administration has already deployed concrete measures to address the fallout from the Middle East conflict and climbing fuel costs.
Castro, speaking at a press briefing in Cebu, took aim at Duterte’s characterization of Marcos as falling short in his duties.
“Patungkol sa maraming kakulangan ang Pangulo. Unang-una, mas maganda po sana na gamitin muna ang mata at tenga bago ang bibig dahil kapag inuna natin ang bibig at hindi ginagamit ang mata, tenga at utak, magkakamali kayo ng sagot,” Castro said.
She pointed to a national address delivered by Marcos the previous evening as evidence that the government was actively responding to the regional crisis, noting that the president had laid out programs intended to ease the burden on Filipinos.
“Marami na po tayong nabanggit kung anong mga programa ng Pangulo. Kahapon lamang po ay nagbigay siya ng kaniyang mensahe para sa ating mga kababayan especially patungkol dito sa nangyayari sa Middle East,” she said.
Among the steps Castro cited were fuel subsidies extended to the public transport sector and agriculture.
Duterte had earlier gone on the offensive, arguing that the administration had been given ample warning as far back as 2022 and had still failed to mount an adequate response. She broadened her critique beyond the oil price issue, raising what she described as deeper problems in how public funds were being managed.
“Marami siyang kakulangan bilang Presidente. Hindi lamang sa pagbibigay ng simpatya at empathy sa ating mga kababayan. More than that ay ‘yung problema at iskandalo sa paggamit ng pera ng bayan,” Duterte said.
Castro did not address the financial mismanagement allegations directly, focusing instead on rebutting the claim that the government had been slow to act.
