Sara to Remulla: 'Be professional'

“Be professional!”
This was the pointed reminder Vice President Sara Duterte gave to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla over his use of humor when announcing work and class suspensions due to inclement weather.

“Kung galing ’yan sa DILG official account, na sinasabi ninyong confirmed naman na DILG official account, they have to be professional,” Duterte said in an ambush interview Tuesday in The Hague, Netherlands.

“Hindi ko sinasabing hindi pwede maging professional ang ano ha, pero the person can express, has the freedom of expression. An institution does not have the freedom of expression,” she added.

The Vice President was referring to a post made by the official Facebook account of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), where Remulla, addressing those waiting for suspension updates, joked:
"Mga abangers, may inaabangan ba kayo? Mamaya na, kain muna ko.”
He followed it up with another post:
“Mga abangers, sarap ng bogchi ko. Sa kabusugan ay nakaidlip nang sandali. Oh eto na inaabangan niyo!”

Remulla has since apologized in an interview with GMA’s Unang Hirit, saying that the humorous approach was not meant to diminish the seriousness of the situation, but to lighten the mood of the public during bad weather.

Duterte also commented on other national issues, including a safety alert recently issued by China’s Ministry of Education, warning Chinese students in the Philippines of alleged harassment and threats.

"Karapatan at dapat lang mag-issue sila dahil may obligasyon yung state to protect its citizens wherever they may be found, sa labas man ng China o sa loob ng China," she said.

"Kung merong mga ganoon na pangyayari na nadedelikado yung buhay nila or merong harassment, merong threats na nangyayari, ay dapat bigyan nila ng sapat na warning yung kanilang mga citizens para sila naman ay makapaghanda or meron silang magagawa para sa proteksyon ng sarili nila,” she added.

Duterte was also asked whether she expected President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to raise the International Criminal Court (ICC) case of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in his current visit to the United States.

“Wala akong expectation na i-bring up niya doon anything favorable to former President Rodrigo Duterte,” the Vice President said.

“Likely, baka i-bring up niya doon pero ang kanyang sasabihin ay things that are unfavorable to President Duterte because he will really defend what they did to the former president,” she added.

President Marcos is currently in the U.S. for a meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump.