Hontiveros refutes Duterte's remark on gov't COVID-19 response

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday refuted President Rodrigo Duterte’s remark on the government’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the numbers of transmissions and deaths can speak for themselves.

“Sobrang nagkulang at nagkukulang pa rin [the government has fallen short and is still falling short in its response),” Hontiveros said in a CNN Philippines interview.

“When you weigh his insistence na hindi sila nagkulang against the really sad and frightening numbers that keep climbing up, alam na natin ang totoo. The evidence, the numbers of the cases, of the deaths can speak for themselves,” she added.

(When you weigh his insistence that they have not fallen short against the really sad and frightening numbers, you'll see the the truth. The evidence, the numbers of the cases, of the deaths can speak for themselves.)

In a televised briefing Thursday night, Duterte slammed critics of his administration’s pandemic response, insisting that the government is working and doing everything to fix the situation. He urged the public not to be afraid as the government is “doing everything.”

This was also opposed by Hontiveros, saying the Filipino people want to see clear, coherent, empathetic, and compassionate leadership more than the photo releases.

Hontiveros further pointed out that comparing Philippines’ COVID-19 response to other countries will only show how it is “falling behind.”

“‘Yung mga kapitbahay nating mga bansa, not just the more economically-developed ones, kahit ‘yung mga more resource-trapped, they are actually doing better even with less because last year pa sineryoso na nila consistently without panic, without drama, without male-fisted approaches,” the opposition lawmaker said.

(Our neighboring countries, not just the more economically-developed ones but even those that are resource-trapped, they are actually doing better than us.)

GMA News Online has already reached out to Malacañang for its comment on Hontiveros' latest tirade but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

Step up

She also made an acronym for the word “step up” which the government can adopt in its COVID-19 response. Her suggestions include: standardized contact tracing, targeted and periodic testing, expanded and timely ayuda or financial assistance, protect our healthcare workers and their families, upscaling and upgrading of health facilities, and pushing for the completion of the national vaccination program.

“It is exasperating that we have to keep repeating these steps which we’ve known since last year, pero hanggang ngayon kasi hindi pa rin nila ganap at maayos na ginagawa,” Hontiveros said.

(It is exasperating that we have to keep repeating these steps which we've known since last year but still cannot establish and execute properly.)

Malacañang has repeatedly defended the administration’s effort to address the pandemic, saying critics “have always something to say.”

A group of healthcare professionals recently called out the government’s imposition of strict lockdown, saying this was wasted due to “unclear plans” to address the health crisis.

The Philippines has so far recorded a total of 904,285 cases of COVID-19 including 183,527 active cases, 705,164 recoveries and 15,594 deaths.  —KBK, GMA News