MANILA, Philippines – Blogger Margaux “Mocha” Uson has echoed a fellow blogger’s criticism of Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto’s request for the national government to allow tricycles to operate, calling the mayor “pabebe” or trying to act cute.

In the Facebook post that Uson shared, blogger Banat By questioned why Sotto is asking the national government to allow tricycles to ferry health workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak when other cities have activated shuttle services.

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Sotto made the request after President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) all over Luzon last Monday paralyzed transportation as public utility vehicles were no longer allowed to make trips.

“Eto yung sinasabi ko eh. Kaya ng ibang lugar bakit eto si Mayor Sotto pabebe? Bukas pag-uusapan natin ito. Papaliwanag ko kung bakit sablay ang pabebe ni Sotto,” the post shared by Uson, who is also the deputy administrator of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), said.

(This is what I’ve been saying. Other cities can do it but why Mayor Sotto is pabebe? We will tackle this tomorrow. I’ll explain why Sotto’s pabebe flopped.)

The post also cascaded Sotto’s request to the reply of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, who urged Sotto to be more creative in solving problems created by ECQ.

POSTED BY ADMIN BANAT BYEto yung sinasabi ko eh. Kaya ng ibang lugar bakit eto si Mayor Sotto pabebe? Bukas paguusapan… Posted by MOCHA USON BLOG on Wednesday, March 18, 2020

READ: DILG to Sotto: Tricycles not allowed in Pasig City during Luzon-wide quarantine

However, it seems that Uson’s post has backfired, as her post has drawn at least 5,100 angry reactions as of writing, and 1,400 funny ripostes.

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Netizen rushed to defend Sotto, with one commenter even urging the blogger to just follow her own previous advice — which was to help the government instead of criticizing people doing their jobs.

Another, meanwhile, asked Mocha to keep quiet because Sotto knows Pasig more than she does.

“He knows his place, he’s the chief executive of the town, what may be applicable to other towns may not be applicable to his. He did not do anything […] Problem with our country is everybody claims to be an expert. Shut your mouth and cooperate that’s the least you can do to help,” another netizen added.

For his part, the city mayor explained that the decision from the national government to disallow tricycles is confusing because it is not that different from shuttles provided by the government.

“’Yung tricycle nga po open-air e. And yung proposal po sana namin, hanggang maximum of two. Isa sa body, isa sa backride. Kung hindi po kailangan ng companion nung pasyente, mag-isa lang po. May social distancing po doon,” Sotto said.

(Tricycles are open-air public utility vehicles. Our proposal was to allow a maximum of two passengers. One on the sidecar and another on backride. If a patient doesn’t need a companion, the person can board alone. Social distancing is observed.)

READ: Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto: Why not tricycles as emergency, health workers’ transpo?

READ: Sotto prays gov’t will allow tricycles to operate in Pasig City

Sotto’s progressive response towards the COVID-19 crisis has prompted praise from various sectors, including Senators Panfilo Lacson and Leila de Lima. Lacson said that Sotto, son of celebrities Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes and nephew of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, appears to be the best gift Pasig had.

READ: Vico Sotto the ‘best gift ever’ to Pasig City — Lacson

READ: Twitter stans ‘competent’ Vico Sotto, thanks mother Coney Reyes

Luzon was placed under ECQ after COVID-19 cases rose quickly. As of Thursday, the Department of Health said that there are 202 confirmed cases in the Philippines, 17 of which have died.

At least seven have recovered, while there are six patients who were allowed to go on a home quarantine mode.

READ: BREAKING: 15 new COVID-19 cases bring total to 202

Worldwide, over 193,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded, 7,865 of which have died. On the other hand, another 81,743 patients have recovered.

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.

What you need to know about Coronavirus.

For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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