Villar clarifies remark on health workers: It's the gov't leaders who should work harder

Senator Cynthia Villar on Sunday clarified that it was government leaders who need to work harder to curb the impact of COVID-19 in the country's economy and the health sector.

Villar made the remark after she drew flak on social media for dismissing calls from the medical community to revert Metro Manila to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) as health workers were already worn out due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases being admitted in hospitals.

In her earlier statement, Villar said Filipinos will just "have to learn to live with COVID-19," saying the country can no longer afford to shut down the economy again.

Asked if Metro Manila should revert to an ECQ status, the senator said: "Hindi na siguro. Pagbutihin nila trabaho nila. Hindi puwedeng isara ang ekonomiya kasi kung 'di naman mamamatay sa COVID, mamamatay naman sa gutom ang tao."

But in her clarification, Villar said her statement was not aimed at medical front liners but at government officials, including her.

“We have to work harder and better, but I am not referring in particular to the medical workers—our frontliners. We are referring to all of us and DOH (Department of Health) and Philhealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.) in particular," she said.

"There is so much room for improvement in the government’s response to curb the transmission of the disease," she added.

Villar recognized the sacrifices that medical front liners had to make in order to respond to the COVID-19 cases in the country.

“We in Congress have just passed the Bayanihan package 2, after intense debates, to provide health and financial support to the people. The government’s economic team will have to work harder to raise the money to fund the package," she said.

"The Task Force and the LGUs will have to work harder in trying to trace and manage movements of people and businesses to prevent more infections, and at the same time, be mindful of the people’s desire to earn a living," she added.

The senator also urged the public to strictly follow health protocols imposed by experts to minimize the transmission of COVID-19.

“We all want to be safe and COVID-free.  All of us are doing a difficult balancing act to keep people safe and alive. We all need to keep our jobs, the economy, to do our respective roles to sustain this. All of us have to work harder and better," she said.

Various medical associations on Saturday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to place the National Capital Region under ECQ for at least two weeks from August 1 to 15 as health workers were already exhausted due to the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients.

The DOH on Saturday said it is already in discussion with health workers to figure out strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, amid calls of the medical community to revert the Metro Manila to ECQ.

For his part, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he would put forward medical frontliners' suggestion to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Members of the Cabinet and the IATF gathered Saturday night to discuss the concerns raised by the medical community.

The meeting was called by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. —Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News