Palace tells Robredo, critics: Open your eyes, ears on gov’t initiatives vs COVID

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo and members of the opposition should open their eyes and ears to see the government’s inroads in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Malacañang said Tuesday.

In a televised Palace press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque mentioned the administration’s supposed gains in light of the ongoing health crisis which include the country’s increased COVID-19 testing capacity, the establishment of numerous isolation facilities, intensified contact-tracing effort, and the establishment of the One Hospital Command.

Roque said these initiatives are being ignored by Robredo and the critics of the Duterte administration.

“Wala daw po tayong ginagawa. Well, sila lang ata ang hindi nakakaalam kung anong ginagawa ng gobyerno,” Roque said.

(They say we are doing nothing. Well, I think they are the only ones not knowing about what the government is doing.)

“Buksan po ang mga mata, at buksan po ang mga pandinig,” he added.

(Open your eyes and ears.)

The Palace official was reacting to the Vice President’s push back on President Rodrigo Duterte’s taunting to Robredo over the opposition leader’s criticisms of the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Duterte on Monday night defended again his administration’s COVID-19 recovery plan, saying that the only thing people could do is to wear face masks while waiting for a vaccine to become available.

He also asked Robredo to join him aboard an airplane and spray pesticide over the entire country or Manila to “exterminate COVID-19.”

Robredo said there is more to fighting the health crisis than just wearing face masks and waiting for a vaccine. She also listed what she called the “main challenges” that should be addressed by the government during the crisis:

• 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;
• Rebuilding the economy in an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable way.

But Malacañang again dismissed Robredo’s insights, saying that nothing is new with the Vice President’s recommendations.

“Wala pong bago, pinapatupad na ‘yan ng gobyerno. Again, buksan po ang mata, buksan po ang pandinig nang hindi inuulit ang mga pinatutupad na ng gobyerno,” Roque said.

(Nothing is new, the government has been implementing that already. Again, open your eyes and ears so that we do not appear redundant in saying all about what the government has been implementing.)

JPV