- Duterte’s spokesman scoffed at Roxas’ comic book showing him as a hero of post-Typhoon Yolanda
- He described it as comical and pure fantasy
- He called on Roxas to quit revising history, says facts on the ground squarely negate his claims
MANILA, Philippines – “It’s comical.”
Scoring Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas for saying there was nothing wrong with the comic book portraying him as the hero of relief operations in post-Typhoon Yolanda-hit Tacloban City, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Peter Laviña described the book as comical and the product of fantasy.
“The medium is the message. It is comical. Pure fantasy. C’mon let us not rewrite history,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
According to Laviña, Roxas’ portrayal in the comic book is negated by the facts on the ground that even CNN host Anderson Cooper took note of.
“CNN’s Anderson Cooper is a living witness on the ground. On the fifth day of the disaster, he tells the world ‘As for who exactly is in charge of the Philippine side of operations, that is not clear,’ while US marines, not to mention Davao’s 911 were already undertaking rescue and relief operations,” he said.
Roxas has been relentlessly criticized for his perceived poor performance in the post-typhoon relief operations, with Duterte regularly asking him where the funds donated by foreign countries for the victims went.
In the comic book, Roxas is depicted as a tireless leader who was in Tacloban before the typhoon struck. A panel of him almost losing his life can be seen, in reference to his oft-repeated claim he almost died there.
The book also made mention of Roxas’ infamous spat with Tacloban City Mayor Alfredo Romualdez and blasted the media for blowing it out of proportion while turning a blind eye to the former’s work in the city.
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