Vice President Leni Robredo has responded to President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks against her criticisms about the government’s coronavirus response.
Robredo said on Monday that the Duterte administration’s plan to just wait for a coronavirus vaccine, as a response to the pandemic, “is not enough” for the Philippines to address the health crisis.
Her remarks came following Duterte’s statements in his regular television address. He said: “Alam mo, Leni, kung gusto mo, if you really want to do away with the COVID, i-sprayan natin itong Pilipinas, o Manila, ng pesticide galing sa eroplano para patay lahat. You cannot exterminate the COVID by itong ano lang meron ngayon. The only thing that we can do really is to wear a mask, and that it’s and wait for the vaccine,” Duterte said.
The President added that he didn’t know what the opposition and his critics still want from the government since the Philippines has hospitals, hospital beds and morgues to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
READ ALSO: ‘Don’t exaggerate’: Duterte hits Robredo over criticisms on gov’t response
On her Facebook post, Robredo cited some of her suggestions to bolster the country’s response to COVID-19 battle.
“’Di ko matiis magkaroon ng takeaways. Hindi yata sapat na basta may ospital, kama at punerarya, ang kailangan nalang gawin ay maghintay ng vaccine,” she said.
Her suggestions include: suppressing the pandemic by means of medical and non-medical interventions; overcoming humanitarian emergencies including poverty, hunger, unemployment, mental distress, etc. , caused by the pandemic; restructuring public and private finances in the wake of the pandemic; and rebuilding the economy in an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable way.
Robredo joked about the President’s statement about spraying pesticide to solve the COVID-19 problem.
“Yung number 1 po, hindi ma-sosolusyunan sa pag spray ng pesticide sa Manila galing sa eroplano,” she said.
