Senate President Chiz Escudero has appealed to all the parties involved in the events that led to the latest tirade of Vice President Sara Duterte to work on de-escalating the situation to “prevent further harm to the safety, health and well-being of everyone involved”.
In a statement, Escudero said he was “deeply concerned” with the latest outburst of the Vice President in public in connection with the detention of her chief of staff in the House of Representatives, without any regard for her position as the second highest official of the country.
“She should keep in mind that as a public official, she has a duty to set an example.”
“She should keep in mind that as a public official, she has a duty to set an example for the personnel in the Office of the Vice President and our fellow Filipinos, especially our children,” the veteran legislator said.
In yet another video that was shared to the public, the seasoned lawmaker engaged in a profanity-laced attack on the First Family and Speaker Martin Romualdez, in response to what she claimed as incessant harassment against her and her office.
The Senate President said the Vice President and her allies “must consider how her actions have contributed to rising tensions”.
“I urge those who are close to her–those who truly care about her as a person and as a leader–to advise her to refrain from making these indecorous and possibly criminal statements in public. These do not benefit the Vice President, her office, or our country,” he said.
“Our government has urgent and pressing concerns it must address–matters that directly affect the lives and livelihoods of the Filipino people. It is imperative that we as public officials focus our energy and attention on resolving these issues,” Escudero added.
He lamented how in every similar episode involving the Vice President and her “erratic and troubling behavior” it serves as a needless distraction from attending to the urgent needs of the nation.
“If she is struggling, I sincerely hope she seeks and is provided with the help she may need.”
“If she is struggling, I sincerely hope she seeks and is provided with the help she may need so she can regain calm and composure, and properly discharge her duties as Vice President,” Escudero said.
He reminded all public officials to keep in mind that as public servants, “our actions should always be guided by this fundamental question: do my actions serve our people and benefit the country that we all love?”
“I implore the Vice President to review and assess her recent actions and words spoken and determine if her statements meet this standard,” Escudero said.
While acknowledging that there are times when anger and frustration get the better of people, when it comes to civil servants like him and the Vice President, they “do not have that luxury, as our Code of Conduct requires all public officials and employees to ‘perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill’.”
“Let us all strive to have prudence, reason and dignity in our words and actions for the good of the nation and the people we are duty-bound to serve,” he concluded.
