Malacañang: PH doing an ‘excellent’ job until COVID-19 surge happened
The Philippines faces a rising number of daily COVID-19 infections, and projections by experts see the country could hit 8,000 daily cases if the current surge is not controlled. Despite this, the government maintains it was doing an “excellent” job prior to the surge.
In a virtual press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque echoed his statement last week that the government has been handling the COVID-19 “very well” until the cases started to swell at the start of March.
“Until sumipa po ang mga kaso natin, we were really doing a very good job—an excellent job,” said Roque, who also revealed to reporters that he tested positive for COVID-19 today.
“Mapapansin po natin na itong pagtaas, kalian lang po talaga nangyari ito, mga nakalipas na araw,” he added.
When asked by a reporter about the #DutertePalpak hashtag that trended as the country inched its way to the anniversary of what came to be the world’s longest lockdown, Roque said, “Tingnan po natin ang datos, napababa po talaga natin ang kaso. At itong buwan ng Marso lang sumipa muli.”
There are four confirmed new variants in the Philippines, including the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom, South African variant (B.1.351), Brazil variant (P.1) and the Philippine variant (P.3).
Roque reiterated that, though he is not a scientist and not in the position to conclude, the mutation of the new variants was one of the reasons of the surge in cases and not because Filipinos were not compliant with the IATF rules nor because the government botched its COVID-19 pandemic response.
Some senators think otherwise.
Last week, Sen. Joel Villanueva expressed disappointment on the government’s handling of the pandemic. “It’s so disappointing to note that it’s been a year and we could hardly see ‘yung malaking pagluluksa natin, luksa, meaning jump, para iawanan o makipag-split tayo sa COVID,” he said.
"Ang problema po natin ngayon, parang aaksyon lang tayo pag kalat na 'yung virus. Pag napupuno na lahat ng ospital natin, 'yung capacity, I think we need to be ahead of the curve... Unfortunately, 'yan 'yung pinaka-disappointing na napapansin po natin... Look at everything, parang we're back to square one," he added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said in a statement on Friday that with the spike in COVID-19 cases and the slow vaccine rollout in the country, it “feels like March 2020 all over again.”
“Kailangan natin ng mga solusyong galing sa mga eksperto sa public health, hindi ‘yung mga eksperto sa baril o giyera. Kailangan natin ang kamay na ma-aruga ng mga doktor, nurse, contact tracers at vaccinators, hindi kamay na bakal," he added.
Today, Sen. Nancy Binay blasted national leaders for sending wrong signals to the public and trivializing the continued increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and giving assurance that the situation will slowly turn to normal because the vaccines are already available.
“Yung pagda-downplay ng DOH sa pagtaas ng mga kaso at ang recommendation ng IATF na i-open na ang turismo, buksan na ang mga resorts, sinehan, etc. actually create an impression na balik na tayo sa normal—which is not the case. Nalulusaw ang mensahe na dapat maging vigilant pa rin tayo dahil mas lalong lumalakas ang COVID. Walang mangyayari sa atin kung kakapitan natin ang mantra na 'OK na dahil meron nang bakuna'. It's the perception that 'everything is OK' is what makes it not OK," she pointed out.
In her statement on the anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown in the country, Sen. Risa Hontiveros echoed questions of the public that the government is still yet to answer, including where the billions of dollars it secured are, which are supposedly to help country on the impact of the pandemic.
“Saan napunta ang pera? Nasaan ang $14.24 billion o P690.5 billion na inutang ng Pilipinas para tugunan ang pandemya?” Hontiveros asked after the Bayanihan 2 was passed and extended but the health workers have reportedly yet to receive their allowance and benefits.
“Sampal sa mukha ng taumbayan ang pagsirit muli ng mga kaso ng COVID-19 habang may P690 billion silang dapat bayaran na tatagal hanggang sa mga susunod na henerasyon. Nakapanlulumo lang na sa dami ng mga loans, hindi natin nagawang i-flatten ang curve.
The rise of COVID-19 infections comes on the heels of the country's first vaccine rollouts for frontline healthcare workers. Recently, the government allowed some businesses and industries to reopen and further expand under general community quarantine (GCQ), subject to operational guidelines. Some local travel rules have also been eased.
Just last week, the Metro Manila mayors agreed to implement a unified curfew hours in the National Capital Region from 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. for two weeks starting today, March 15. Localized lockdowns have also been implemented in cities including Manila, Quezon City, Muntinlupa City and Mandaluyong City.
Despite the rise in COVID-19 numbers, Roque said the country will not shift to enhanced community quarantine just like how some speculate. “Sa buwan ng Marso, possibly hindi pa po,” he said. But for April, Roque said he is not sure about what the quarantine status will be.
“Hindi po natin alam kasi kung hindi po natin mapapababa yung r-naught na 1.9, ang ibig sabihin po noon, ang isang tao na may COVID ay makakahawa ng at least dalawa. 'Yun po ang ibig sabihin ng r-naught. Mabilis po iyon. I really do not know what will happen in April kaya po binabantayan natin,” he said.
As of this writing, the Philippines tallied 5,404 new confirmed cases, the highest in the past seven months, with a total of 626,893 cases in the country.
Banner and thumbnail photo by Kris John Rosales/The Philippine STAR