Robredo says LGUs need aid from national gov’t in COVID-19 fight

This undated photo shows a man being vaccinated against COVID-19 at Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Manila City. Photo from the Office of Mayor Isko Moreno

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo defended local government units (LGUs) that are grappling with the current COVID-19 surge, saying that while they are competent, they also need help from national agencies.

According to Robredo, local government units should be given assistance to deal with the influx of patients and possible local COVID-19 transmissions. Assistance in testing and in building isolation facilities are key in preventing more cases, she said.

“Iyong LGUs naman ay competent, kailangan lang ng tulong. Kailangan ng tulong from the national government. So halimbawa, test kits, padalhan sila nang marami,” Robredo said over DZXL on Sunday.

“Iyong isolation centers, tulungan silang—huwag masyadong centralized, kasi mahirap iyong malayo. Iyong malayo sa pamilya kasi na isolation centers […] again, hindi niya nai-incentivize iyong tao magpa-isolate.  So para sa akin, okay naman iyong sinabi sa ECQ, pero sana mas detalyado, saka sana nag-ooperate tayo na parating may specific objectives,” she added.

Recently, there were talks on social media among administration supporters claiming that President Rodrigo Duterte should not be blamed for the COVID-19 surge occurring in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal — areas under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) bubble.

The blame, the administration supporters said, should be put on local executives as a huge chunk of the new and active COVID-19 cases comes from the ECQ bubble.

Data from the Department of Health COVID-19 tracker show that as of April 3 out of the 165,715 active COVID-19 cases in the country, 122,917 or over 74 percent comes from areas under the ECQ bubble.

Of the 122,917 cases, 90,429 are from Metro Manila LGUs.

Robredo stressed that while LGUs are working, their supplies are limited. She said that some LGUs are doing well in their COVID-19 vaccine rollout plans, but are hampered by the lack of supplies.

“Ako nakita ko iyong mga LGUs — halimbawa iyong Manila… iyong mga nababasa ko lang: Manila, Quezon City, Parañaque — nakikita ko na parang efficient naman iyong pag-rollout ng bakuna. Pero ang mga problema, number one, kulang talaga,” Robredo stated.

“Nakita ko iyong post ni Mayor Vico kahapon, parang ang sinasabi niya, ‘May 3,000 na dumating sa amin for seniors, pero ayusin natin iyong pag-register, kasi’—tama ba, 80,000 iyong seniors sa kanila? […] So nakikita ko, iyong LGUs, ginagawa niya iyong lahat para efficiently ma-rollout. Iyon iyong unang problema: Kulang,” she stressed.

Also, the Vice President noted that there is still a high mistrust for COVID-19 vaccines, which essentially hampers the LGUs’ vaccination efforts.

“Grabe pa talaga iyong mistrust sa pagbabakuna. Marami iyong ayaw, marami iyong ayaw magpabakuna. So nag-eexert ba tayo ng enough effort para yayain iyong mga tao na walang danger iyong—hindi naman sa walang danger, pero pareho lang ito noong ibang bakuna,” Robredo said.

“Kailangang mag-exert ng effort. Kami, Ka Ely, sinusubukan namin na mag-partner din — kaya ang dami na naming ginagawa na kakaunti lang kami — na makatulong din sa vaccine information drive,” she added.

Earlier, Robredo urged the national government to set targets or goals that may be used to gauge the performance amid the one-week extension of the ECQ status.

The ECQ in “NCR Plus” was extended following a surge in cases that was attributed to transmission of the more infectious COVID-19 variants.  Recently, the country saw the daily increase in new cases break the 10,000 mark at least four times.

READ: ‘NCR Plus’ under ECQ again for one more week–Palace

READ: Highest number ever: PH logs 15,310 new COVID-19 cases

As of Sunday, the country has over 135,526 active cases, the majority of which are found inside the ECQ bubble.

READ: PH logs 11,028 new COVID-19 cases, 41,205 recoveries

/MUF