Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo on Sunday pointed at government data to prove her claim that it’s doing something wrong in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
(OVP / Facebook / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Iyong datos—at ang datos galing sa pamahalaan—iyong datos ang ating basehan kung bakit natin sinasabi na kung ano iyong ginagawa natin ngayon, hindi siya nagwo-work,” she said on her radio show.
Robredo reiterated her call on the administration to reassess its policies and improve in areas where lapses have been committed following the request of frontline health workers to revive strict lockdowns in Metro Manila and its adjacent regions.
The vice president said the medical community’s appeal for comprehensive strategy against COVID-19 is a valid request that should be seriously considered.
“Iyong lahat na punto nila, halimbawa na lang sinasabi nila na ‘iyong ginagawa natin ngayon is not working.’ Iyon din iyong punto ko, eh. Na hindi working iyong ginagawa natin ngayon kasi pataas nga nang pataas iyong bilang,” she said.
As of August 1, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,963 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections in the country to 98,232.
“Ito nga 98,000, validated lang dahil iyong for validation pa, kung hindi ako nagkakamali, nasa mga 37,000, 38,000 pa. Ito iyong discrepancy. So kapag dinagdag mo pa iyon, talagang unimaginable na iyong numbers natin,” she said.
Robredo also cited the data from tracing czar Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong that showed only four of over 600 local government units have contract tracing capability.
For each positive COVID-19 case, only eight persons are being traced on the average instead of the standard of 37, she said.
“Iyong ina-announce na so much number of contact tracers, na 52,000 yata—52,000 na iyong na-hire, pero ang sabi ng WHO, dapat ang ideal para sa atin 132,000 iyong ma-hire na contact tracers,” Robredo added.
She said the Philippines is now conducting 30,000 tests for coronavirus per day, but she noted it took the government two months to meet its target daily testing capacity in May.
The vice president said she was surprised with the “mass recovery adjustment” after the DOH reported a record-high in recoveries of COVID-19 patients at 38,075.
Robredo asserted the DOH must inform the public before changing its data system.
“Kung magpapalit ng definition, kung magpapalit ng protocols, baka mas maganda na ina-announce iyon sa tao bago makita iyong numero kasi talagang nagulat lahat. Tapos ang pinaka-mahirap, pagkatapos noong one-time-big-time na isang araw, the following day balik sa dati,” she said.