Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Thursday, October 13, said the government will not be implementing lockdown if he and his running mate, Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III be elected as the country's next leaders in the 2022 elections.
In an online forum, Lacson lamented how the Philippines fails to prevent the spread of COVID-19 despite having the world's longest lockdown.
"We’re toying with the idea that after June 30, 2022, wala na tayong lockdown kasi hindi nagwo-work ang longest lockdown. Lockdown ng lockdown, hindi nagwo-work. Baka may ibang approach (We are toying with the idea that after June 30, 2022, we won't have a lockdown anymore because the lockdown approach is not working. There could be a better approach)," the presidential aspirant said at the Pandesal Forum.
"As we go on, we adopt methods; ginagawa natin na magwo-work but we stop or reconsider tayo sa hindi nagwo-work. Kung hindi ka flexible, hindi ka nag-a-adapt for some reason, walang mangyayari sa buhay natin (As we go on we adopt methods that work and reconsider those that don't. If we cannot be flexible or adapt, nothing good will happen to us)," he added.
During the Senate committee deliberations on the Department of Health's proposed budget for 2022 on Wednesday, Lacson said the government should be adjusting its strategy against the pandemic.
He cited Nikkei Asia's COVID-19 Recovery Index listing the Philippines as last in infection control, vaccination and mobility, among 121 countries.
He said that all COVID-19 response policy decisions must be based on science and data, and should not be a trial-and-error approach.
For their part, Lacson said he and Sotto are looking at "alternatives" to control the virus outbreak, such as a more efficient rollout of vaccines, capacitating of government hospitals, and a more judicious use of public funds.
"COVID is here to stay, we don’t know when it will end. I told Sec. Duque that what we have is not working. Tayo ang longest lockdown sa buong mundo (We have the world's longest lockdown)," he said.
"Pinaparusahan natin ang ekonomiya at hindi nagwo-work ang health efforts natin para ma-cure ang COVID (We are punishing the economy with health efforts that do not work)," he further said.
The next leadership will have to deal not just with the pandemic but with the post-pandemic problems, Lacson said.