{"id":266706,"date":"2020-08-27T06:37:54","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T10:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=266706"},"modified":"2020-08-27T06:37:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T10:37:54","slug":"not-true-that-govt-lacks-plans-to-fight-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/08\/27\/not-true-that-govt-lacks-plans-to-fight-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Not true\u2019 that gov\u2019t lacks plans to fight Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Roque\u2019s statement was in response to Robredo\u2019s claim on Monday that the country seems to have \u201cno leader\u201d amid the Covid-19 crisis. (PCOO file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang on Thursday expressed strong objection to Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo\u2019s assessment that President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s administration lacks plans to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI beg to disagree, seriously disagree with the Vice President,\u201d Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual press conference.\u00a0\u201cIlang buwan na po tayo sa<\/em>\u00a0Covid-19,\u00a0pinatutupad lang po natin iyong plano ng Pangul<\/em>o (It has been months since we are battling Covid-19 and the President\u2019s plans to fight it are already being implemented).\u201d<\/p>\n

Roque\u2019s statement was in response to Robredo\u2019s claim on Monday that the country seems to have \u201cno leader\u201d amid the Covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

Robredo, in a video message uploaded on her official Facebook account on Monday, said it feels that Filipinos \u201chave nothing to expect from our leaders\u201d or it is as if \u201cthere are no leaders at all\u201d as the country continues to struggle in defeating Covid-19.<\/p>\n

In a taped public address aired on Tuesday, Duterte reacted to Robredo\u2019s statement, telling the Vice President to stop issuing statements that are intended to sow hatred against the government.<\/p>\n

Roque said it was easy for Robredo to criticize the government because she is not the one who is expected to lead the fight against Covid-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cSiguro madali pong magpula dahil hindi tayo ang nasa gitna ng pandemya at hindi tayo ang inaasahang gumalaw<\/em>. So\u00a0napakadali talaga na ikaw ay magpula<\/em>\u00a0(Perhaps, it\u2019s easy to criticize because you\u2019re not at the forefront of Covid-19 fight and you\u2019re not expected to do anything. So it\u2019s very easy to criticize),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Contrary to Robredo\u2019s claim, the government is focused on helping individuals who have contracted the new coronavirus, Roque said.<\/p>\n

Roque added that the Duterte administration is determined to ensure the recovery of Covid-19 patients with \u201csevere\u201d symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u00a0hindi po totoo na hindi sapat ang ating<\/em>\u00a0response (So it is not true that our response is not enough),\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cAng pinaghahandaan po natin \u2018yung mga magkakasakit ng<\/em>\u00a0severe\u00a0at<\/em>\u00a0critical (We are focusing on giving more attention to [Covid-19] patients with severe and critical infections).\u201d<\/p>\n

Roque also responded to Robredo\u2019s call on the government to \u201cspend more, spend efficiently, and spend quickly\u201d once the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) is enacted into law.<\/p>\n

He said the government only has limited funds to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung pupuwede po, bibigyan lahat \u2018no pero wala nga po tayong sapat na pondo para diyan<\/em>\u00a0(if we can help everyone, we will. But we have not enough funds for that),\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

The PHP165-billion stimulus plan under proposed Bayanihan 2 consists of PHP140 billion in regular appropriations and PHP25 billion in standby funds.<\/p>\n

Roque reiterated that Robredo should stop politicking amid the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAng pakiusap lang ni Presidente, magkaisa po sa panahon ng pandemya. Isantabi muna ang pulitika<\/em>\u00a0(The President\u2019s appeal is to have everyone\u2019s cooperation amid the pandemic. Let\u2019s set aside politics for now),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang on Thursday expressed strong objection to Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo\u2019s assessment that President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s administration lacks …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":259982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266707,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266706\/revisions\/266707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}