Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30) – President Rodrigo Duterte defended anew on Monday the national government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, saying other countries are in lockdown too because of surge in infections.
Duterte said other countries under lockdown like Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy are also having a hard time dealing with the pandemic. The situation worsened because of different COVID-19 variants which are believed to be triggering the rise in cases.
“Hindi lang tayo, nauna nga sila sa vaccine and yet itong bagong strain…pero may mga reinfections sila,” Duterte said during the weekly Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases meeting.
[Translation: We’re not the only country experiencing it (surge in COVID-19 cases). They first got the vaccines and yet the new strain came and they also recorded reinfections.]
Duterte also aired his frustrations despite the many efforts by the national government to combat the health crisis that has infected 731,894 persons and claimed 13,186 lives in the country. On Monday, the Philippines recorded its highest single day tally with 10,016 new COVID-19 cases reported by the Department of Health.
“I would be the last person, ako ang pinakahuling tao dito sa Pilipinas na magpapahirap sa Pilipino. If only I had the power…na maalis kaagad itong problema natin, gagawin ko. I’m having a hard time. I’m grappling with the issue of COVID-19, it takes most of my time,” the President said.
[Translation: I would be the last person here in the Philippines to make life harder for my fellow Filipinos. If only I had the power… to eradicate our problem, I will do it. I’m having a hard time. I’m grappling with the issue of COVID-19, it takes most of my time.]
Several critics lamented the national government’s perceived poor response on the COVID-19 pandemic. The Twitter hashtag #DutertePalpak is also a trending topic online amid the surge of COVID-19 cases.
