VP Robredo tells Duterte gov't to to stop praising itself, address important missed COVID-19 response targets

Vice President Leni Robredo is calling out President Duterte for what she calls the need to reassess government policies and strategies as regard how to battle COVID-19 as it continues to register all time high everyday after more than 100 days of quarantine.

Robredo said its early to take compliments when she points out that the government is slow and very much reactive in terms of the policies that plans to curb the number of COVID-19 infections.

As of June 26, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in the country is at 33, 000 and still rising.

(photo credit to owner)

"We’re headed in the right direction in the sense that finally we are prioritizing testing, if those are the numbers... Ang layo noong targets na sinet natin for ourselves [We are still far away from the targets we set for ourselves]. While we’re doing a lot of things, every now and then, we have to assess if okay pa ba tayo," Robredo in an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines' The Source.

She took note of the following  : the country is still far from the 55,000 daily testing capacity as currently our numbers is on about 15,000 – 16,000 samples per day, slow accreditation of hospitals and laboratories who could run COVID-19 tests, and still the big problem of providing necessary protective gear for all our medical health workers.

Robredo also chided Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque when the latter said that the country was among the first in the region to lockdown the local epicenter of the outbreak., because in actuality the country was the last to shut down international travel which could have vastly affected the spread of the virus in the country.

Roque’s statement that the country has a declining death rate due to the coronavirus was also not spared by Robredo saying : "We should not be satisfied with that because one death is one too many."

According to the Department of Health (DOH)at least 1,212 people have died in the country due to COVID-19.

"We have to accept our failures para magawan natin ng paraan... If until now we keep on insisting that we are among the best in Asia, may problema nga tayo [then we have a problem]," she added.

Humane approach with respect to violators

The Vice President also appeals to government to an apparent double standard in the apprehension of quarantine protocol violators, wherein poor Filpinos are being apprehended while those in power like the head of the NCRPO chief Debold Sinas surprise birthday party was just shrugged by the authorities.

"What message are we sending to our people – na kapag nakakaangat ka, hindi mo kailangang magdusa ng ilang gabi sa kulungan pero kapag mahirap ka, kailangan mong pagdusahan iyong violation mo?," VP Robredo said.

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Report from CNN Philippines

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