Senator Joel Villanueva said the government should be apologizing to the public for allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to last for a year in the Philippines.
"Bilang parte ng government, dapat 'anniver-sorry' po tayong lahat sa publiko (As part of of the government, we should be saying 'anniver-sorry' to the public)," Villanueva said in a text message to reporters Monday, March 5.
Authorities, he said, should have learned from their gaps and not repeat their mistakes in addressing the health crisis. "Sa lagay po natin ngayon, parang bumalik po tayo sa square one (With our situation right now, it seems like we are back to square one)," he lamented anew.
"Split na po tayo sa COVID, makipag-break na tayong tuluyan. Kase gusto na po natin makipagbalikan sa trabaho at maayos na kabuhayan (Let's split from COVID-19, let's break up with it. Because we want to get back to jobs and stable livelihood)," said the Senate labor committee chairman.
In an online interview with reporters last Friday, Villanueva explained that "split" was an acronym for Supply, Personnel, Listahan, Impormasyon (Informational) at Tiwala (Trust), which he said are necessary for the sustained and successful implementation of the government's vaccination program.
For Senator Imee Marcos, there should be an overhaul of the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, as she lamented the persisting COVID-19 communty quarantine and protocols.
"Nakaka-one year na tayo -- one year naka-preso sa bahay, one year na walang natututunan ang mga anak, one year na walang kinikita (It's been a year -- one year of being locked inside our homes, one year that children aren't learning anything, one year of not seeing our loved ones)," Marcos said.
"It's an anniversary not worth remembering or celebrating," she pointed out.
"The only way to commemorate this continuing misery is for PRRD (President Duterte) to overhaul the IATF. What exactly have they accomplished after one year?" Marcos asked.
She further said: "The vaccines have arrived, true. After so many delays. Meantime, families and businesses have suffered due to loss of income, health workers got sick and a number have died, LGUs have run out of funds and resources. What will the IATF recommend this time to control this new surge?" On March 16, 2020, Luzon was placed under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in an effort to curb the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease.
Mass transportation was suspended and residents were only allowed to leave their homes for basic necessities. Checkpoints manned by police and military were set up in each cities to ensure compliance in the restrictions.
While community quarantines were slowly relaxed to allow the reopening of the pandemic-hit economy, the Philippines again saw a spike in new COVID-19 cases this year due to the emergence of new coronavirus variants.
A total of 621,498 cases have so far been recorded in the country as of Sunday, March 14, 48,157 of which remain active, 12,829 dead, while 560,512 recovered.