‘We’re not back to square one’: Roque

MANILA – Malacañang debunked Tuesday the claim that the Philippines is starting all over again when it comes to the way of handling the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“We’re not back to square one,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual press conference.

Roque issued the statement in response to Senator Joel Villanueva’s statement that the country, instead of moving forward, is “back to square one.”

On March 12, Villanueva was dismayed by the government’s supposed lacking in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is only taking action “when the virus has already spread.”

Countering Villanueva’s remarks, Roque maintained that the government is “doing well” in containing Covid-19 in the country.

He said public cooperation has also helped President Rodrigo Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) limit the spread of the coronavirus.

“So, I think we have been doing well in this effort. At kinakailangan namang i-recognize natin na ito ay accomplishment hindi lang ng Presidente, hindi lang ng IATF, kung hindi ng sambayanang Pilipino. Syempre po (And we also have to recognize that it is not just the President and the IATF’s accomplishment but also the accomplishment of the entire Filipinos. Of course), it is the people [who] will determine their fate,” he said.

Roque noted that the country now has better facilities to accommodate Covid-19 patients.

“We have more critical bed capacities. We have more ward bed capacities. We have prepared the healthcare capacity para nga po gamutin yung mas maraming magkakasakit (to treat those who will get infected [with Covid-19]),” he said.

Not just in PH

As of March 15, the Philippines has reported an additional 5,404 Covid-19 infections, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 626, 893.

Roque explained that it is not just the Philippines that is experiencing a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases.

“Ang pagtaas pong ito or spike na tinatawag ay hindi lang sa Pilipinas po nararanasan. Buong mundo po ay may nararanasan na mga spike (The spike in [in Covid-19 cases] is being experienced not just in the Philippines. Countries all over the world are also experiencing the spike),” he said.

Do better

Roque, nevertheless, guaranteed that the government will perform better to address the rising Covid-19 cases in the country.

“We could do better. And there’s always an assurance that we could do better. And we’re aiming to do better. Pero sa tingin ko po (But I think), we have done the best that we could under the circumstance,” he said.

Roque was also confident that Covid-19 vaccines would eventually bring down the number of people who will catch the highly-infectious disease.

“At ngayon nga po, nandoon na tayo sa stage na malapit na po ang solusyon dahil papasok na po ang mga bakuna (As of now, we’re already near that stage of finding a solution because we are able to secure more vaccines),” he said.

The government’s goal is to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year to achieve herd immunity and to further reopen the Philippine economy.