Sotto backpedals, says uncooperative Pinoys give greater 'headache' than gaps in gov't COVID-19 response

Senate President Vicente Sotto III took a step back on Tuesday and said the uncooperative behavior of some Filipinos breaching quarantine protocols outweighs the gaps on government response initiatives, in terms of contributing to the increase in the country's COVID-19 cases.

"I think the [non]compliance of the people, mas malaking sakit ng ulo 'yun kaysa sa program. The reason I say that is that 'yung mga programa natin, mga protocols natin, lalo na noong umpisa pa lang... it's the same thing that were done in other countries eh and they are all successful in those countries na sumunod," Sotto said in a virtual interview with reporters.

"Mas malaki ang pagkukulang natin, ng mga kababayan natin, na hindi sumusunod," he added.

During the same interview, Sotto took back his earlier statement that there is something very wrong in the government response when the World Health Organization data showed that the Philippines had the fastest-growing COVID-19 cases in the Western Pacific region.

"Completely mali pala 'yung mga sinasabi ko in the last few days that, 'Marami sigurong pagkukulang tayo sa health protocols natin, delayed siguro tayo sa reaction sa COVID, saka siguro ngayon pa lang dumarami ang mass testing kaya ngayon palang lumilitaw lahat yan,'" he said.

"Pero watching the news last night, I think I'm wrong. I think there's something wrong with our attitude, there's something wrong with the character being seen among us, sa mga kababayan natin, tayo."

"Parang ang tingin nila tapos na ang problema, wala na. Sige lang, sige lang, labas nang labas. Padami nang padami tuloy ngayon. May nag-iinuman, may nagpupunta sa bar. Labas nang labas eh, nawala na ang pag-iingat," he added.

Though acknowledging that majority of Filipinos follow quarantine rules, he said the uncooperation of others have a significant impact on the country's battle against the spread of the virus.

Sotto said the public should be better informed of the risks of contracting COVID-19 and that a strong-arm rule is needed.

"Kung minsan talaga, mapipintasan na naman ako niyan, kailangan talaga sa atin strong-arm rule. Kaso naman kapag tinigasan mo naman at tinibayan mo naman ay kung anu-ano na naman ang sasabihin— freedom of expression at demokrasya daw ay patay na," he said.

Nevertheless, Sotto added the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases must review its protocols to address the insufficient COVID-19 testing and the slow turnaround time to get test results.

'Selective ECQ, GCQ, MGCQ'

Given the situation, the Senate President said he recommends retaining the general community quarantine (GCQ) in selected areas in Metro Manila.

"It's better if government will be selective and retain GCQ in some areas in the National Capital Region. Ngayon pa lang, GCQ pa lang, hindi pa nag-MGCQ eh malala na," Sotto said.

He stressed that the government can no longer sustain a massive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) because another halt in business operations would worsen the economic climate in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to make announcements on the status of community quarantines in the Philippines within the day.

As of June 29, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 36,438 with 9,956 recoveries and 1,255 deaths.—AOL, GMA News