Filipinos highly approve of govt’s pandemic response

MANILA – Filipinos nationwide gave the national pandemic response a high approval rating of 88 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR), 79 percent from Luzon, 92 percent from Visayas, and 80 percent from Mindanao, based on a recent non-commissioned survey by OCTA Research.

“Eight out of ten Filipinos approve of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This response has always been through the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte together with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

Among the different socio-economic classes, brackets A, B, and C gave the pandemic response an approval rating of 82 percent. Bracket D – lower-middle class gave 85 percent, and Bracket E – the marginalized population gave 68 percent.

Overall, the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach against the pandemic garnered an 83 percent positive response – an above average rating.

A 91 percent positive rating on the willingness to get vaccinated among Filipinos was also recorded. NCR respondents gave a positive rating of 94 percent, Luzon with 90 percent, Visayas with 83 percent, and Mindanao with 93 percent in the same category.

The DOH, through its different campaigns such as the BIDA Solusyon initiatives, RESBAKUNA rollouts, and Bayanihan Bakunahan days – to name a few, aimed to provide protection to the Filipino people throughout the pandemic including the height of Covid-19 cases in January.

This was made possible through the continuous efforts brought by the national government, along with close coordination with different medical institutions, frontline healthcare workers, local government units, the private sector and development partners, as well as partner organizations and stakeholders.

Aside from providing Covid-19 vaccines, other precautionary measures such as vaccination against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) are made possible through the Universal Health Care Act, which will aid in giving a more holistic approach to the healthcare system in the country and improve the government’s response against the virus.

“The safe reopening of our economy was made possible not only by the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach but also through the trust, cooperation and confidence of the Filipino people. With vaccines as our best defense in this pandemic, no one will get left behind as we move forward towards the New Normal,” Duque said. (PR)