via Elija Philip C. Lutawan, Pressroom PH
Malacañang pushed back on Friday against Vice President Sara Duterte's remarks that she is not a ”free consultant” of the Marcos Administration when asked about global best practices for flood control.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said if the vice president had indeed picked up lessons during her foreign trips, she should share them with her own city first.
“Kung may natutuhan na siyang solusyon sa pagbaha sa dami ng kanyang byahe, ibigay na niya ang free advice niya kay Acting Mayor Baste ng Davao City,” Castro said in a statement.
“Abangan na lang natin kung epektibo at kung ‘di na babaha sa kanilang lungsod,” she added.
The vice president, in an interview in The Hague, Netherlands, earlier this week, joked that she should start charging consultation fees when asked about solutions she learned abroad.
“Hindi naman ako libre na consultant ng administration. Siguro dapat gawin nila ‘yung ginagawa ko—umiikot ako sa iba’t ibang Filipino communities around the world,” Duterte said.
She added that overseas Filipinos can serve as the “best consultants" because of their exposure to practices in other countries.
Duterte pointed to the flood control and drainage master plan developed for Davao City with the assistance of international specialists, noting that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) never fully funded the project.
“Nandiyan ang plano, pero walang interes ang national government na pondohan ito,” she said.
The exchange comes as recent typhoons and monsoon rains have left large parts of Luzon submerged, reigniting public pressure on the government to come up with long-term, comprehensive flood control measures.
