Vice President Leni Robredo has expressed dismay over some known politicians who as early as now are focusing on the 2022 elections instead of the efforts in addressing the pandemic.
Robredo, an opposition leader, lamented the misplaced priorities of possible candidates posturing for next year's polls.
“Makikita mo iyon ngayon, iyong mga malalaking politiko, may eleksyon, walang eleksyon, eleksyon iyong nasa isip (You can see it now, the big-time politicians, there is an election or not, they still think of the elections),” she said recently over dzXL.
Without naming names, Robredo said it would be better for them to focus more attention on the health crisis instead of the upcoming national elections.
The vice president noted the surge of COVID-19 cases in other parts of the country that need urgent attention.
READ: Robredo on 2022 elections: ‘Politics can wait’
“Iyong eleksyon next year pa iyon. Mabuti kung walang problema ngayon puwede niyong pag-usapan iyong eleksyon pero ang dami nating problema (The elections are next year. It’s okay if there’s no problem now, we can talk about the elections but we have so many problems),” Robredo said.
According to the OCTA Research latest report, the National Capital Region (NCR) still topped the list of local government units with daily new COVID-19 cases from July 4 to 10. It recorded 660 cases.
Outside Metro Manila, Davao City, led by presidential daughter and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio came second with 234 new cases per day during the period, followed by Iloilo City (111), Bacolod (99), and Cebu City (76).
READ: Robredo offers help to contain COVID-19 surge in Davao City
Even with the surge of cases in her city, Duterte-Carpio admitted to thinking about the possibility of running for president, although not with her father, President Duterte, as a running mate. Duterte-Carpio’s billboards and tarpaulins can be found in major thoroughfares around the country.
Robredo, on the other hand, said she is yet to decide whether to run for the country’s top post. She stressed that her focus right now is on her office’s COVID-19 initiatives.
The filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) will be in October this year while the official campaign period will begin in February next year.