Vice President Leni Robredo urged her critics to stop spending their money to buy the services of social media “trolls” for a while amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
In her radio show ‘Biserbisyong Leni’ she said that instead of spending money for trolls, they should just buy protective gear for the COVID-19 front-liners, which includes the nurses, police, and soldiers.
Robredo expressed concern to the condition of the front-liners after she saw a photo of a cop without wearing any protective gear.
“Parati kong sinasabi na iyong pambayad niyo sa trolls, utang na loob, itulong niyo na muna kasi kailangan na kailangan iyong tulong ngayon. Ibili na lang nila ng protective gear para sa ating mga frontliners,” the vice president said.
“So ito, pakiusap lang natin, huwag naman tayong—huwag naman nating hahayaan na iyong frontliners natin malalagay sa alanganin. Ang laki ng sakripisyo para sa kanila, pero siguraduhin natin na protected sila.” she added.
The government was repeatedly accused of using social media trolls to taint the image of its critics.
Robredo then announced that their private partner “Kaya Natin!” successfully raised P3-M that would provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for the front-liners.
“Puwera doon, mayroon ding nag-donate ng food and care packages para sa kanila. So nagpapasalamat tayo doon sa lahat na donors na tumutulong,” she said.
She also urged the government to avoid focusing too much on the military and police.
“Ngayon kasi, parang nangingibabaw ulit ‘yung public order and safety na dapat sana supportive lang siya sa health concern,” Robredo said.
“Sana hindi grabe ‘yung focus sa military, sa kapulisan kasi ito, health concern ito,” she added.