Do not waste time on hecklers, trolls, Marcos urged

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “not waste time” on hecklers, trolls, and destabilizers that hurl lies against him after he flagged an alleged “secret deal” between former President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In a statement on Wednesday, Villafuerte said that Marcos should not “waste his and the people’s time in using the presidential pulpit to respond to lies the destabilizers are spreading.”

Marcos earlier said that he was horrified by the alleged agreement that may have compromised the country’s sovereignty.

Villafuerte said the President “will not hesitate in using his time to call out acts that will compromise national interest committed through a secret deal against us.”

“If it concerns the nation’s business, the President responds. If it is personal, he shrugs it off,” Villafuerte, also the president of the National Unity Party, added.

He said that the President can weather any criticism.

“The President’s statement on the ‘secret agreement’ has been measured, responsible, statesman-like and factual, as befits the office he holds,” the lawmaker added.

He said that some of those who heckled the President argued that Marcos commented on the so-called “secret agreement” while being silent on the many issues hurled against him.

Villafuerte said that Marcos has the duty to defend the national interest.

“The President is not singling out any party when he is vocal in asserting our sovereignty on a territory which by law and history is ours,” he said.

Villafuerte joined other House leaders and members in condemning the so-called “secret deal” between Duterte and Xi.

The deal will be investigated by the House of Representatives once Congress resumes its session on April 29.