Leni politicking? It's Sara with posters everywhere, Robredo camp says

Vice President Leni Robredo had no intention to play politics when she gave an advice that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte must look at how Cebu addressed the surge in virus cases, her spokesperson said Tuesday.

Lawyer Barry Gutierrez, Robredo's spokesman, said there was no political attack on President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter, who is considered a contender for the presidency in Eleksyon 2022. 

Gutierrez said Robredo just mentioned the rising cases in Davao City and that it could take some lessons from the way that Cebu City handled its own surge.

"So, I don’t see what the problem is. Why so defensive, why immediately jump to, 'Let’s meet in the elections'?" Gutierrez said in an interview on ANC.

"Mayor Duterte has been saying she’s not running. Why all of a sudden she’s saying that 'we should meet in the elections'? Is that an indirect way of saying that after all her protestations, she in fact is vying a run for president in 2022?," he added.

"After all, there are, you know, Run Sara Run posters all over the place," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez explained that Robredo had been helping out Filipinos and consistently made suggestions to authorities for COVID-19 response.

"She has consistently attempted to forward her suggestions to the proper authorities in engaging with the Department of Health, the IATF, DepEd, on a variety of issues related to the pandemic," Gutierrez said.

"But you know, they never listened to her, and you know, despite all the work that she’s done, they insist that she’s politicking. Who’s politicking?" he added.

Gutierrez said it was Sara and presidential spokesman Harry Roque who mentioned the elections.

"So you know, it’s clear where the politicking is coming from here," Gutierrez said.

Sara in a statement on Monday said Robredo should stop making suggestions if she knew nothing about "what is happening on the ground." —Consuelo Marquez/NB, GMA News