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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Palace disputes WHO report; says PH rise in COVID-19 cases not 'fastest'

Palace disputes WHO report; says PH rise in COVID-19 cases not 'fastest'

Published Jun 29, 2020 12:00 am
  By Argyll Cyrus Geducos Malacañang rejected the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Philippines had the fastest rise in COVID-19 cases in the Western Pacific region, more than three times that of Singapore which is already in the second wave of infection. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (Jansen Romero/ MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
(Jansen Romero/ MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after data from the WHO showed that the Philippines had 8,143 new cases since June 16, the highest among 22 countries in the region. Singapore came in second with only 2,351 new cases while China, the origin of the disease, logged 302. In his Monday presser, Roque took exception to the report of WHO, saying the rise in the number of cases should be in relation to a country's population. "Totoo ba ho ito (Is this true)? We beg to disagree," he said. "Bakit tayo ikukumpara sa Singapore, eh ang Singapore limang milyon lang po 'yan? Isang siyudad lang po 'yan. Hindi pa siyudad ng Quezon City o Manila (Why would they compare us to Singapore that only has 5 million people? It's just one city and it's not even as big as Quezon City or Manila)," he added. Roque said the following should be the ranking in the Western Pacific region when the number of cases is divided per million population: 1. India: 549,197 2. Pakistan: 202, 955 3. Bangladesh: 137, 787 4. Indonesia: 54,010 5. Singapore: 43,459 6. Philippines: 35,455 7. South Korea: 12,715 8. Malaysia: 8,634 9. Thailand: 3,162 10. Vietnam: 335 "Malinaw na malinaw po. Hindi po magsisinungaling ng datos. Hindi po tayo ang pinakamabilis (It's very clear. The figures are not lying. We are not the fastest)," he said. "Hahayaan na po namin ang datos sumagot sa report ng WHO (We will let the data answer the report of the WHO)," he added. According to Roque, there was nothing to be ashamed of about the WHO report. "Nothing to be ashamed of, in terms of density, we are not number one in the Western Pacific. Pero sa akin, hindi naman po ito contest (But for me, this is not a contest).," he said. The Palace official, however, assured the public that the government is always trying to balance its duty to protect the public and their right to make a living.
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