The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo said on Thursday the government has to listen to suggestions to improve its coronavirus response efforts.
“Umayos naman kayo, please. Ang daming umaasa sa inyo. Ang dami ring handang tumulong (Get your acts together. Many people depend on you. There are also many people who are ready to help),” Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said.
“Makinig din sana kahit minsan. Hindi na ito tungkol sa politika. Hindi na ito nakakatawa. Pakiusap lang (I hope sometimes you’ll listen. This is not about politics. It is no longer funny. Just a request),” he added.
Gutierrez, also a legal adviser to Robredo, was responding to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque who denied that the government’s COVID-19 response is lacking.
Roque said he “seriously disagrees” with the assessment of the vice president that people are being left to fend for themselves amid the pandemic.
“I beg to disagree, seriously disagree with the vice president,” he said. “So hindi po totoo na hindi sapat ang ating response (So it is not true that our response is not enough).”
But Gutierrez listed the country’s woes under the Duterte administration during the crisis: 205,581 COVID-19 cases, -16.5% gross domestic product, 7.5 million job losses, closure of 26% of businesses, thousands of stranded Filipinos, and worsening hunger.
“Ito ba ang itsura ng ‘sapat na response?’Ang hirap talagang tulungan ang ayaw man lang tanggapin na may problema (Is this what adequate response looks like? It is really hard to help someone who doesn’t even accept there is a problem),” Robredo’s spokesman said.
Gutierrez also chided Roque for asking Robredo to avoid politicizing the government’s COVID-19 response.
“And by the way, ito ba ang itsura ng ‘namumulitika lang at hindi tumutulong (is this the look of a person politicking and not helping),” he said, citing the latest updates on the OVP’s efforts amid the pandemic.
Robredo’s office was able to raise P62 million worth of donations from the private sector for the purchase of protective gear, food and care packs, and medical supplies, among other assistance.