Robredo: More testing, vaccines in ‘areas of concern’ outside Metro Manila

(FILE) Dr. Tricia Robredo, daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo, conducts a swab test as part of the Swab Cab project in Malabon. (Photo from the Facebook page of Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta III)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday reiterated the need for more testing and vaccines in areas outside of Metro Manila that are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Robredo made the call in her weekly radio show Sunday, where she also highlighted the high infection rates in areas outside of Metro Manila.

“Pero iyong sa mga matataas iyong positivity rate, ‘yun ‘yung binabat natin lagi na dagdagan iyong testing (but in areas with high positivity rates, we always say there should be more testing),” said Robredo.

“Parang sirang plaka tayo na dagdagan iyong testing, dagdagan iyong testing. Pero iyong nirerequest natin ngayon, hindi na lang dito sa Metro Manila. Pero iyong mga areas of concern all over the Philippines sana masuportahan sila,” he added.

(We are now sounding like a broken record saying increase testing, increase testing. But that’s what we are requesting now, aside from Metro Manila, other areas of concern outside the metro should be supported.)

Robredo pointed out that while Metro Manila has already started vaccinating indigent Filipinos who belong to the A5 priority group, other areas outside the so-called National Capital Region Plus have yet to finish vaccinating senior citizens or those under the A2 category.

“Kasi ‘yon ang problema, dito sa Metro Manila nakita natin sa balita A5 na ngayon ‘di ba? A5 na iyong binabakunahan pero sa mga probinsya hindi pa nga tapos yung mga A2, iyong mga seniors parang kaunti pa lang,” she added.

(Because that’s the problem, we see in the news that Metro Manila has already started vaccinating A5, right? But in the provinces, the vaccinations of those belonging to the A2 category have not even finished. Only a few seniors have been inoculated.)

On Sunday, the OCTA research group reported that local government units (LGUs) from the Visayas and Mindanao lead the list of local government units (LGUs) with the most number of new infection cases from June 13 to June 19.

Health experts earlier reported that the Philippines now has a total of 1,359,015 COVID-19 cases as of June 20, with 57,679 active cases, 1,277,715 recoveries, and 23,621 deaths.

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