Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has a "devil-may-care attitude" like that of United States President Donald Trump in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, President Duterte said early Wednesday.
(SIMEON CELI JR. / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The President described the two leaders as “brave" for their desire to keep their country’s economies open despite the "rampaging" pandemic.
Bolsonaro earlier tested positive for the coronavirus after reportedly downplaying the severity of the viral illness and flouting health precautions such as social distancing.
"Let me stress that whether we open a modified lockdown or we totally open it in wild abandon kagaya ng America pati Brazil, well ang mga presidente doon medyo matatapang. May pera itong si (Let me stress that whether we open a modified lockdown or we totally open it in wild abandon like America and Brazil, well their presidents are quite brave, Bolsonaro has money)," Duterte said in his public address early Wednesday.
"Medyo may pagka ano rin may pagka-Trump and devil-may-care- attitude (He is like Trump and has a devil-may-care attitude)," he said.
The United States has the highest number of coronavirus infections at 2.9 million cases and 131,455 deaths, followed by Brazil with 1.6 million infections and 66,741 deaths based on the latest global tracking by Johns Hopkins University.
As of July 7, the cases of coronavirus in the country have surged to 47,873 with 12,386 recoveries and 1,309 deaths.
Unlike the two countries, Duterte said the Philippines, being poor, must be circumspect in opening the entire economy to avoid the risk of more coronavirus infections. He noted that other countries suffered a "spike" in coronavirus cases after allowing the resumption of their economic activities.
"Mahirap tayo. Hindi tayo pwedeng sumugal (We are poor, we cannot take the risk). I cannot follow the example of other countries because as experience has shown, there were a lot of countries also opening up. And first was Japan, then Korea, followed by China, and the United States," he said.
As he read the day’s coronavirus cases, the President welcomed the data that more people are recovering from the illness. The country’s death rate is “quite small” compared to the number of recoveries, he added.
The President also appealed anew to the public to observe health precautions to avoid getting sick.
"All I am asking is that you obey the government because the government is very much interested that you don’t get sick. Or if you get sick, that you get well and would live to grow, to see your children grow, and your grandchildren to love,” he said.
Despite the rising cases of infections, presidential spokesman Harry Roque had earlier asserted that the country is "winning" the battle against the pandemic due to low mortality rate and case positivity rate. He said the soaring cases are expected due to lack of vaccine and that these should not be a cause of concern as long as people continue to follow health protocols such as the wearing of face masks and physical distancing.