Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 1) — The Philippines’ low standing in Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Resilience Ranking is due to the report’s lack of country-specific gauge, Malacañang said Wednesday, as it noted decreasing new cases and improved situation in the country’s hospitals.
“We have to consider that the 53 countries in the report have different COVID-19 experiences and strategies. There is little consideration for country-specific COVID-19 context, which in our view is imperative to objectively assess how countries managed pandemic response,” Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement.
With a resilience score of 43.1, the country remained at the bottom — at 53rd spot — for the third straight month in the latest Bloomberg report. The monthly report captures how effective the countries are in responding to the pandemic.
Bloomberg said it uses several indicators in assessing the 53 countries – including virus containment, quality of healthcare, vaccination coverage, overall mortality, and progress toward reopening borders to tourists.
Nograles pointed out that the alert level system and the granular lockdowns helped the government “effectively manage COVID-19 risks while providing for an environment conducive to economic growth.”
He noted that the country’s cases continue to fall with 425 new daily COVID-19 infection record on Nov. 30 — the lowest reported this year.
The Palace also said that there is no overcrowding in hospitals, with healthcare utilization rate below 30%.
Nograles added that Philippine economy grew 7.1% in the third quarter.
“We reiterate that our goal is to strike a balance between the management of COVID-19 and the safe reopening of the economy––to protect lives and secure livelihoods,” he said.
“Our Economic Team will continue to put a greater emphasis on our country-specific conditions or context in order to craft policies that are more responsive to our people’s needs and the requisites of economic recovery,” he added.
