Villanueva on fight vs. COVID: It’s as if we’re back to square one

The Philippines should always get ahead in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Joel Villanueva said on Friday.

At a virtual press briefing, Villanueva expressed frustration on the country's pandemic response, saying we are not moving forward and that the government will only act if the number of infections spikes.

"It so disappointing to note that it's been a year and we could hardly see 'yung malaking pagluksa natin, luksa meaning jump ... para iwanan o makipag-split tayo sa COVID..." Villanueva said.

"Ang problema po natin ngayon parang aaksyon lang tayo pagka 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 pinakadisappointing na napapansin po natin... Look at everything, parang we're back to square one..." he added.

Villanueva said the national government should ensure a speedy rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines to curb the spread of the disease.

"Nandiyan na po lahat ng formula para makapagbili, makaprocure, makakuha ng supply," Villanueva said. (All formulas are there for us to procure and get supplies.)

The senator also said the government must consider recalibrating its contact tracing system, especially if proven that the present system is not helping in addressing the pandemic.

"Barilin natin 'yung idea na wala pa rin tayong contact tracing, wala tayong maayos na contact tracing database system. Tingin ko sana mali ho ito at maipakita na may nangyayari at may working system po tayo. Kung wala talaga, it's about time na irecalibrate 'yan..." he said.

'Better prepared'

Earlier in the day, the Department of Health said the country is better prepared now than it was last year in managing COVID-19 cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said health workers now have a wider array of options on how to manage COVID-19 patients and the country has over 220 testing laboratories.

"Looking at all of this, we can say that we have prepared our health system. Although hindi naman natin sinasabing perpekto na pero (we are not saying that it is already perfect but) looking at that, after one year, I think we are now more prepared to handle and manage cases of COVID-19," she said.

As of Thursday, the Philippines has recorded 607,048 COVID-19 infections, with 546,671 recoveries and 12,608 deaths. 

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque earlier said the government has done an excellent job in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said more than 90% of the country’s COVID-19 cases were classified as mild and asymptomatic. — with Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News