Robredo: I stepped in because gov't didn't seem to be answering flood victims' tweets

Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said she decided to step in and answer the "distress calls" of residents of Cagayan and Isabela trapped by Typhoon Ulysses' floods because no other government official seemed to be responding to them.

In an interview on CNN Philippines, the Vice President said while coming back from Cainta, Rizal around 10 p.m. of Friday, November 13, she tried to check if any government official was responding to the victims' call for help via Twitter.

“10 o'clock in the evening tsaka ko lang nakita ‘yung mga distress calls. And you know what I did was chineck ko kung merong sumasagot from the government doon sa distress calls, wala, walang sumasagot from the government,” Robredo said.

“Hindi ko alam kung hindi ko lang nakita pero nung naghanap ako wala akong nakikitang gumawa noon. And it could have been anyone. Hindi naman kailangan na si Presidente ‘yung sumasagot. Puwede naman any government official,” she later added.

While the government was grappling with criticism over what some perceived as a slow response to the Ulysses' aftermath, a video of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. singing in Baguio City went viral on social media. The official later defended himself, saying he was just “unloading” after a hectic week.

Robredo lamented how the trapped residents felt while waiting for rescue and receiving no response.

“Diba, nandoon ka sa taas ng bubong, rumaragasa ‘yung tubig, nag hahanap ka, sobrang dilim na, nag hahanap ka ng rescue, tweet ka ng tweet pero wala sayong sumasagot,” Robredo said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier accused Robredo of "competing" with him over the response for Ulysses victims, saying all she did was "pretend to make calls." But Robredo said she was merely responding to the cries of the affected residents and assuring them that help was on the way.

“Why was I doing that? Sa sitwasyon na ‘yon napaka halaga na number one, i-acknowledge mo na we heard you, we got your distress call. Number two, help is coming. Number three, we will do all we can to save you,” she said.

On Tuesday night, a visibly irate Duterte on Tuesday night called Robredo "a dishonest person" when she supposedly asked where he was in the aftermath of Ulysses.

However, Robredo never made any public comment about the whereabouts of Duterte.

She branded the president as a “misogynist” after his tirade and brushed off his scathing accusation that she did nothing for the government’s post- Ulysses response, and that she was too weak to become president. -Joahna Lei Casilao/MDM, GMA News