Palace welcomes Robredo's call to prioritize COVID-19 response

Malacañang on Wednesday agreed with Vice President Leni Robredo regarding the need to prioritize pandemic response as it welcomed the latter's initiatives to aid the government in the battle against COVID-19.

"The Palace is one with the Vice President in her Ulat sa Bayan message that in this challenging time of COVID-19, it is the Filipinos who helped and came to the rescue of fellow Filipinos," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

"Now is the time to focus on COVID-19 and help the national government in achieving population protection; so together, we will recover and have a happy Christmas and a better future for all Filipinos," he added.

Likewise, Roque said the Palace appreciates Robredo's contribution in the COVID-19 response. 

"We welcome the initiatives of the Vice President in the fight against COVID-19 which she enumerated in her Ulat sa Bayan and we are in no way diminishing her efforts in this trying time. Any contribution, including policy recommendations from the political opposition, to ensure the successful fight against the pandemic, is much appreciated," Roque said. 

Robredo earlier said there should be no other priority but the pandemic and its effects. 

“We need all hands on deck and laser-like focus. This should be mirrored in our budgets, in the agenda of every meeting within government, in every memo cascaded down the bureaucracy,” she said.

“If we need to put up billboards and tarps, let it be about staying safe from illness. If [you] need the services of a battalion of graphic artists, let it be for a vaccination drive. When passing new laws, let it be for funds and a stronger system to combat the pandemic," the Vice President added.

Likewise, Robredo said the government should offer incentives to those who are hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine rather than threaten them.

“When people are reluctant to get vaccinated, isn’t it better to give incentives, rather than threaten [them] with punishment? When suggestions are being made, shouldn’t we listen first, rather than outrightly dismissing it as fault-finding and antagonism?," she said.

“This has to stop. We are in the midst of a crisis. No one else but us gets infected, no one else but us suffers, no one else but us gets stalled on the road to progress. The truth is that the pandemic doesn’t ask which group we belong to, or which political party appears on our membership cards,” Robredo said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 1,562,420 on Tuesday with 7,186 new infections, the highest daily infection recorded since June 13.

The Department of Health also announced that total recoveries climbed to 1,478,625 after 5,672 more patients recovered from the illness while 72 new fatalities brought the death toll to 27,318.

President Rodrigo Duterte in his State of the Nation Address on Monday thanked health workers and others who stood on the frontlines of the country’s battle against COVID-19.

The President also thanked Filipinos who adhered to health protocols aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Duterte also expressed “profound” and “deep” gratitude to local executives, the private sector, and the Philippines’ international development partners for their COVID-19 response.

He said the government “moved quickly to safeguard the wellbeing of every Filipino” through the early implementation of lockdown measures and a social amelioration program.

However, Duterte later conceded that the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant may spell tighter quarantine restrictions. —KG, GMA News