Duterte furious over Pinoys made to line up in rain for COVID-19 vaccination

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday reiterated his call for local government units not to make people wait in line under the rain just to get their COVID-19 vaccines.

During his final State of the Nation Address, Duterte said LGUs should find a gymnasium or a school instead.

"'Di ko maintindihan bakit gawin mo 'yan sa mga Pilipino... Sa totoo lang hindi naman ako nagyayabang. I'm just an ordinary Filipino citizen just like you. I get hurt when people are nearly brutalized," the President said.

"The Filipino does not deserve this even if they are not paying taxes because the theory of government is that all money belongs to the people and the money is there and it belongs to all of us and it should be used for public good. But what is the use of public good if you are not good and stupid," he added.

The chief executive also said this shows that the government is "too far away from the people."

Duterte then called on the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to protect the people.

"We have spent enormous amounts of resources to build our capacity to overcome this pandemic. We cannot afford more lockdowns less our economy builds to the point of irreversible damage," he said.

On Saturday, Duterte told Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano to issue a directive to "enjoin" LGUs to be more "proactive" and "circumspect especially now that the southwest monsoon is passing the country na. It's not the way to do it."

Duterte also warned LGUs that "this ought not to be repeated, kawawa iyong tao (I pity those people)," saying the people are being exposed to other diseases like leptospirosis, flu, and other respiratory diseases.

Despite the foul weather last week, people still lined up in various vaccination sites in the capital region, including Manila and Mandaluyong, to get vaccinated against COVID-19.  — DVM, GMA News