Palace slams Robredo’s claim of lack of leadership amid COVID-19 crisis

Malacañang on Thursday slammed Vice President Leni Robredo for accusing the Duterte administration of having no clear direction to address the COVID-19 crisis.

In a televised briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government took measures that resulted in the relatively low mortality rate for COVID-19 (1.55%) and improvement in the hospitals’ capacity to treat severe and critical cases.

“I beg to disagree, seriously disagree with the Vice President,” Roque said.

“Hindi po totoo na hindi sapat ang ating response. Siguro madali pong magpula dahil hindi tayo ang nasa gitna ng pandemya at hindi tayo ang inaasahang gumalaw.”

Robredo said on Monday that the country needed “someone to steer the ship of the state” because “it’s as if no one is at the helm, no direction, no clear horizon as to when and how this pandemic will be addressed.”

“As if we have been left to fend for ourselves,” she claimed.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in a taped address aired on Tuesday, asked Robredo not to add “fuel to the fire.” He also said even his death could not solve the public health emergency.

“Ang pakiusap lang ni Presidente, magkaisa po sa panahon ng pandemya; isantabi muna ang pulitika. Matagal-tagal pa po iyan, marami pang mangyayari mula ngayon hanggang 2022 [elections]. Tulungan muna natin ang ating taumbayan,” Roque said.

The Philippines has so far reported 205,581 COVID-19 cases, including 3,234 deaths and 133,990 recoveries.—AOL, GMA News