MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo believes it would be better for the government to make periodic assessments of the country’s fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic than extend the declaration of a state of calamity in the entire country until 2021.
“Sa panahon ng krisis, inaasahan natin na kailangan ng deklarasyon na ito…Pero hindi ko lang alam kung ano iyong basehan na hanggang 2021. Sana ano na lang, parang may periodic sana na pag-assess. May periodic sanang pag-assess kung kinakailangan pa,” Robredo said Sunday during her weekly radio program.
Robredo said this after President Duterte extended the state of calamity for one more year due to the ongoing health crisis. The declaration will be effective until September 12, 2021, “unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances may warrant.”
“Kasi gusto bang sabihin na ganoon katagal iyong emergency situation natin? Kasi kung ganoon katagal, parang nakakatakot para sa atin,” Robredo added.
As of Sunday, the country has a total of 286,743 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 229,865 recoveries and 4,984 deaths.