Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo on Sunday, Nov. 29, urged the administration to take the country’s low COVID-19 resilience ranking as a way to improve its response efforts.
US-based company Bloomberg ranked the Philippines 46th out of 53 countries when it came to handling the health crisis. This was based on 10 key metrics: mortality rate, testing capabilities, community mobility, and vaccine supply agreements, among others.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque refuted this assessment by saying it was inaccurate and the government managed COVID-19 “very well” with a low mortality rate.
The VP encouraged the administration to be open-minded to the Bloomberg study instead of questioning its accuracy.
“Sana maging bukas lang. Kasi pina-comment yata dito si Secretary Roque. Pina-comment siya dito, ang sabi niya hindi daw accurate at pinaninindigan daw natin na napakaayos noong pag-manage natin ng COVID-19,” she said on her weekly radio show.
Robredo asserted the study should be used to assess those lacking in COVID-19 response and what can be done to address it.
“Bakit tayo number 46? Saan ba tayo nagkulang?” Kapag nakita natin kung saan tayo nagkulang, hanapan natin ng paraan,” she added.
The Philippines ranked lowest among Asian countries on the list, which include economies worth more than $200 billion.
It beat only seven countries: Iran, Colombia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico.
As of Sunday, Nov. 29, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,076 new cases, bringing the total tally to 429,864, with 8,373 deaths and 398,624 recoveries.