In Tarlac vaccination program, Robredo says COVID-19, economic recovery still top concern

Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo by Charlie Villegas / OVP)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo stressed that she and her office believes that the country’s most pressing concern to date is still the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recovery.

In an ambush interview with reporters from Tarlac on Wednesday, Robredo said they are still focusing on helping the government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. How people can bounce back relies heavily on the pandemic response.

“Siya (COVID-19) iyong pinaka-primary natin na kailangang tutukan. Kasi hindi natin maso-solve iyong marami nating problema—kawalan ng trabaho, iyong gutom, iyong health system na kailangan nating iahon muli. Lahat iyon nakasalalay how effective we are in controlling the pandemic,” she explained.

(We must focus on COVID-19 as our most important task. We can’t solve the many problems we have – unemployment, hunger, and a broken health system we need to repair. It depends on how well we handle the pandemic.)

“So sa amin, iyon talaga iyong aasahan nilang pangunahin na gagawin kapag binigyan tayo ng pagkakataon na ma-mitigate iyong mga effects ng pandemic. Number two, ma-control iyong pandemic. Gusto nating i-turn around iyong sinasabi nilang tayo iyong pinaka-huling makakabangon. Gusto nating i-prove na kapag nagtulong-tulong tayo, hindi siya magiging ganiyan kasama,” she added.

(To the extent that they expect us to mitigate the effects of your pandemic, that’s really what they’re expecting from us. Number two, being able to control the pandemic successfully. Our goal is to change the narrative that says we are the last to rise. By collaborating, we want to prove that it won’t be as it is now.)

Robredo, who is seeking the presidency in the 2022 national elections, was in Tarlac along with her running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan to visit various groups like the religious sector and their supporters.

The Vice President then visited the second run of their Vaccine Express initiative, which facilitated the provision of the national government’s vaccines to members of Aeta communities in the area.

Robredo is slated to release her strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic to help the country emerge from the economic slump.

READ: Robredo vows to release plans detailing proper COVID-19 response 

As of Wednesday, active COVID-19 cases in the country went down to just 38,014 after the Department of Health recorded just 1,591 infections.

READ: PH logs lowest COVID-19 daily count since Feb. 24 at 1,591