Palace press officer, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, once again did not mince words in hitting Vice President Sara Duterte after she wished a seemingly cynical “good luck” remark when she was asked about the President’s allegedly deteriorating health condition.

On Thursday, Duterte made the remark while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 84th commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan at the Veterans Memorial Monument in Davao City.

“Isang sagot pero makikita ninyo sa body language kung ano ang ibig sabihin. Noong tinanong ito na masasabi natin irresponsible, isang iresponsableng tanong dahil walang pinanghuhugutan, walang batayan. Itinanong sa kanya anong masasabi patungkol sa diumanong lumalalang kalusugan ng Pangulo,” said Castro in a Palace briefing on Friday.

She further criticized the question on the alleged failing health, which she said was a baseless insinuation, but was still asked to Duterte.

“Kaya ang nakuha rin natin sa Bise Presidente ay isang iresponsableng sagot: Good luck with a smile at lahat ng nasa paligid niya ay nagtatawanan. Bilang isang Pilipino hindi natin gawi ang mangutya, pagtawanan ang sinumang may sakit lalong lalo kung ito'y ginagawa lamang, ginagawang sakit para masira ang Pangulo,” according to Castro.

“An idle mind is the devil's playground. So, makikita natin tumawa. Is that a last laugh mentality or a mockery of misery? Hindi ba dapat ang isang tao kapag may sakit, mas binibigyan natin ng atensyon at binibigyan natin ng dasal para mas maging maigi ang kalusugan. Hindi mo tatawanan at parang ikaw pa ay sarcastic sa iyong mga kasagutan,” she added.

Fake news website

With regard to fake news, Castro said the Presidential Communications Office is now acting on it by crafting a website where people can report fake news, set to be launched in the coming days.

“At inaanyayahan na rin po namin—gagawa po ang PCO ng isang website o isang platform kung saan n'yo po isusumbong lahat ng fake news na nagkakalat at 'yan po ay hindi namin tutulugan at lahat po 'yan ay dapat sampahan ng kaso,” she said.

On Thursday, social media platforms were flooded by memes stating that the President did not actually attend the Araw ng Kagitingan commemoration in Bataan, claiming that the footage aired by legitimate news organizations actually happened last year and is just a product of artificial intelligence.

“Alam naman ng mainstream media ang katotohanan. So tayo yung mga matitino na taga-mainstream media, yung mga matitino na nasa social media, kayo na po ang magpatunay kung ang nakikita nila na ang pinupuntahan ng Pangulo na event ay AI lamang o totoo,” Castro said.

“So, kayo po ang maaaring makatulong din sa amin dahil on our part, on the part of the government, ginagampanan lamang po ng Pangulo ang kanyang obligasyon para sa taumbayan at para sa bayang ito. Kung mayroong naninira, alam naman natin kung saang parte ito nanggagaling at suportahan natin mismo ang gobyerno at labanan natin ang fake news,” she added.