'Maliit na bagay'—Duterte on year-long Covid-19 crisis

By Kristine Gaile Gregorio

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“This is a small thing in our lives,” President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday night in his weekly address to the nation as he assured the public that there was no reason for excessive worries regarding the surge of Covid-19 cases.

In his pre-recorded briefing, Duterte asked Filipinos not to despair.

"Kaya natin ito. Itong Covid-19. Maliit na bagay lang ito. Madami tayong nadaanan. Huwag kayong matakot, hindi ko kayo iwanan," he said.

[We can beat Covid-19. This is a small matter. We have been through a lot. Do not fear, I will not leave you.]

The President gave the statements after the whole Metro Manila imposed a curfew from March 15 to March 31, taking effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

On Monday alone, the Philippines logged 5,404 Covid-19 cases, the 4th biggest single-day tally in the country since the pandemic began, which also marks the first year since the Philippines was placed under community quarantine.

The Department of Health disclosed on Saturday, March 13 the diagnosis of a Covid-19 variant first reported in the Philippines called P3. The health department confirmed that there are 98 cases of this strain, and was first detected in Central Visayas.

Several government officials were not spared from the risk of Covid-19 as they recently announced that they were also hit by the virus. To name a few, these are Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Rep. Mike Defensor, Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director-General Wilkins Villanueva.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, currently quarantined due to Covid-19, said in a virtual press briefing that the President was not belittling the Filipinos of their struggles amid the crisis brought by the virus.

“Ang sinasabi ng Presidente, temporary lang po ‘yan. Hindi po ‘yan forever. Lilipas din po ‘yan at pagdating po ng bakuna, magkakaroon nga po tayo ng solution sa ating problema, magkakaroon tayo ng new normal,” Roque said. [The President said that this is only temporary. This is not forever. This will eventually pass and once the vaccines arrive, we will have a solution to our problem, we will have a new normal.]

“Hindi po minamaliit ng ating Presidente ang ating paghihirap. Ang sinasabi po niya, babangon naman po tayo dyan, we will heal as one,” he added.

[The President is not belittling our hardships. He’s only saying that we will overcome this and we will heal as one.]

Sen. Leila de Lima, currently detained and a vocal critic of the administration said in a press release that she grasps the true meaning of what Duterte has said to reassure the country, but “it's an assurance bereft of a legitimate plan and diligent leadership.”

She added that “like his campaign promises, he needs to break this one. It is time for him to help our country. He should resign and leave for good.”

In separate statements, members of the Makabayan bloc criticized Duterte for downplaying Filipinos’ misery in the midst of the pandemic.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said in Filipino: “This is an insult to those who lost loved ones or who got sick, as well as to the millions who lost their jobs and livelihood, the poor who were arrested for allegedly violating protocols, and for families who had to endure hardship and hunger.”

Rep. Eufemia Cullamat of Bayan Muna party-list also slammed the government for keeping away from the public’s appeals for mass testing and delays in vaccine rollout, saying that “matagal na tayong naiwan sa kawalang katiyakan. Isang taon ang lumipas na walang maliwanag na plano ang gobyerno kung paano lalapasan ang pandemya.”

[“We have long been left out in the uncertainty. A year later, it appears that government has no clear plan on how to get through the pandemic.”]

So far, the government has administered 193,492 doses of Covid-19 vaccines.