Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Thursday questioned Vice President Sara Duterte’s criticism of the government’s handling of the Middle East conflict, suggesting that Duterte may have committed a “breach of public trust” if she failed to inform authorities earlier.

At a press briefing, Castro criticized Duterte for publicly highlighting a lack of government preparation, despite allegedly having knowledge of potential conflict as early as 2022.

“Tandaan po natin, ipinagmamalaki niya meron siyang impormasyon patungkol dito. Hindi po ba obligasyon niya bilang Bise Presidente na ito ay ipaalam sa ating awtoridad? Para man lang ang ating mga kababayan katulad ng sinasabi niya ay nakapaghanda,” Castro said.

“Kung hindi niya ito sinabi, definitely this is a breach of public trust. Mayroon po tayong tinatawag na non-feasance, mga taong gobyernong hindi nagtatrabaho,” she added.

Castro questioned why Duterte, who was part of the same political “UniTeam” with President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos in 2022, did not relay the information to the President, government agencies, or the public.

“Malamang ay mayroon siyang sariling bolang kristal, ay dapat ipinaalam niya kung ito ay verified info, nanggaling sa kaniya – dapat ipinaalam niya ito agad sa bansa, ipinaalam niya ito agad sa Pangulo at sa awtoridad,” Castro added.

The remarks came after Duterte reiterated in an interview that the government’s response to the Middle East crisis remained insufficient.

“Wala tayong nakikita na ginagawa ng administration. Ang banta ng gera narinig na natin yan noong taong 2022 pa lang. Dapat noong 2022 pa lang naghanda na ang pamahalaan na ito pero wala tayong nakita ang paghahanda,” Duterte said.

Castro emphasized that if the Vice President indeed had knowledge of the potential conflict in 2022 and did not communicate it, the issue may fall under non-feasance, a failure of government officials to act.