MANILA: Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Tuesday (Oct 13) said those criticising President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s advice for the public to buy buckets and collect water ahead of Super El Nino should instead buy themselves “buckets and buckets of brains” to understand Marcos’ plan.
These scathing remarks came amid backlash to the President’s remarks during an interview in Singapore over the weekend, where he urged Filipinos to prepare buckets and other containers to collect rainwater as the government drew up measures to address possible water shortages.
One of them is Vice President Sara Duterte, who said the public can no longer expect anything from Marcos.
“This is not about everyone fending for themselves. If all they heard was the part about buckets, then it would be better for them to sit down and listen. Sit down and listen to what the President is saying,” Castro said at a briefing.
“Why did they only notice and hear the part about the buckets? Perhaps what we need now—and I’m not referring to everyone, I’m not referring to all of them—is for those who see nothing positive in what thePresident is doing. I am referring to these obstructionists. We really need buckets and buckets of brains for you to understand the President’s plan,” she continued.
Castro said Marcos has just presided over a meeting with the El Nino Task Force, where the water filtration system was one of the main topics. She said the Social Welfare Secretary will also produce a video about it for your instruction.
The President is also taking seriously the expected Super El Nino so every discussion, message, suggestion, and lesson regarding this must be taken seriously, she said.
“We all need to observe and be discerning. Don’t focus only on the negative, because if you are negative, you will not learn. So, as we tell the obstructionists, if only we could buy buckets of brains to give you,” said the Palace official.
In an interview with local media in Singapore on Sunday, Marcos said the government would launch an information campaign teaching households how to collect, filter, and treat rainwater to make it safe for use. - The Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
