Roque denies Duterte downplayed effects of COVID-19 pandemic

President Rodrigo Duterte did not downplay the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Tuesday.

Roque made the response in defense of the President’s comments which went: “Kaya natin ito. Itong COVID-19. Maliit na bagay lang ito. Madami tayong nadaanan. Huwag kayong matakot, hindi ko kayo iwanan.” 

[We can beat COVID-19. This is a small matter. We have been through a lot. Do not fear, I will not leave you.]

“Hindi minamaliit ng President ang paghihirap ng sambayanan. Ang sinasabi po niya, babangon po tayo, at malapit na po ‘yan at parating na ang mga bakuna,” Roque said in a Palace briefing. 

[The President is not downplaying the hardships of the people. What he is saying is that we will rise again, and this will be soon since COVID-19 vaccines are about to be delivered.] 

“Ang sinasabi niya, temporary po 'yan, 'di yan forever, lilipas din 'yan,” he added.

[He is saying that we won’t be in this situation forever, and it will pass]. 

The Philippines has been recording over 4,000 COVID-19 cases per day for the past week. 

The government’s COVID-19 vaccination program started last March 1, but the country’s vaccine supply from Sinovac and AstraZeneca only stands at 1.12 million doses which is not enough to vaccinate 1.7 health workers in two doses. 

Still, Roque insisted that the President was talking about the Filipinos’ resolve amid the pandemic but conceded that the deaths and the four million people being unemployed due to COVID-19 pandemic were a tragedy. 

“Ang sinasabi ng Presidente, patuloy naman pong nabubuhay ang Pilipinas sa gitna ng COVID. Ikinalulungkot natin ang mga nawalan ng trabaho, namatay pero by and large, ang sinasabi niya ay compared with other countries,” he said. 

[What the President meant was we continue to survive. We are saddened over the loss of jobs and lives, but by and large,  we are better situated compared with other countries]. 

“We have been spared from even more deaths experienced by wealthier, highly developed countries which have more health care resources,” he added.

The Philippines on Monday reported another record high of 5,404 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total tally to 626,893. 

Of this number, 53,479 are active, 560,577 recovered, and 12,837 died. —KG, GMA News