President Duterte revealed that he has been praying to God that He is not too busy with other things in the universe and will provide the Philippines with a steady supply of vaccines so the country can return to normal soon.
Duterte made the statement as the country is set to receive its 100 millionth dose of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by the end of October this year.
In his pre-recorded public address late Monday, September 27, the President welcomed the report that the seven-day average of new cases in the country has decreased by 13 percent.
"We hope that this trend will continue in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
According to the President, he has been praying to God that things will finally start to look up in the Philippines.
"Nagdadasal ako. Sana po (I have been praying. I hope)... I hope God is listening," he said.
"I hope He is not busy enough with the other things in the universe to just take a look kung saan tayo nagkaroon (at where we are right now)," he added.
He likewise hoped that God will allow the Philippines to have enough COVID-19 vaccines to help the country return to its pre-pandemic life.
"If God helps us, we can have a steady supply of vaccines," he said.
Duterte reiterated that vaccination is the key for the country to return to the "old normal." However, he acknowledged that it will not happen overnight as the process may take years.
"Vaccination is also a step towards returning to normalcy so we can ease the restriction," he said.
"Matagal pa tayo makabalik sa yung nakaraan (It will take a long time before we go back to the past), just before the pandemic. I think that it would not be-- We will not be able to return to the old norm. Mga ano pa siguro, two to three years (Maybe in two to three years)," he added.
The Philippines has been battling the pandemic since March last year. After 16 months, the government decided to pilot a new Alert Levels System in Metro Manila where certain businesses will be allowed to operate even under strict restrictions.