Lagman says Duterte failed miserably in COVID-19 response

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman believes that President Rodrigo Duterte has failed in his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is an acid test to the chief executive's leadership.

In his commentary on Duterte's final State of the Nation Address (SONA), Lagman said: "The acid test to his leadership and ability to solve a serious national problem is the COVID-19 pandemic, which is wreaking  havoc on the people's health, and destroying  the economy."

"President Duterte has failed the test and failed miserably," the lawmaker added.

According to Lagman, when Duterte delivered his SONA last year, the number of COVID-19 infections was 80,448.

However, during this year's SONA, the number of cases already soared to 1,548,755, which is 1,924% or close to 2,000% higher than it was a year ago, Lagman said.

"While the numbers were expected to increase, the inordinate escalation is an indictment of this administration's ineffectiveness, to say the least," Lagman pointed out.

Lagman also said that with respect to other ASEAN countries, the Philippines fared poorly in its vaccination program.

Earlier, Lagman's colleague Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice said that Duterte's last SONA should have focused more on the government's anti-COVID response.

In SONA 2021, Duterte talked more about corruption and illegal drugs, communist insurgency, and improvement on transportation and infrastructures, among other concerns.

Meanwhile, in relation to the COVID-19 response, House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano urged the Department of Health to change its strategy on the inoculation program from "where the surge is" to "vaccine to population ratio."

He also said the detection of the Delta variant in the country calls for a more proactive response in the fight against pandemic.

Paduano also urged the IATF to make consultations with LGUs prior to imposition of lockdowns.—LBG/AOL, GMA News