Roque says Robredo’s remarks on gov’t COVID-19 response are ”baseless”

June 27, 2020

Remarks by Vice President Leni Robredo that ''the national government is in a state of self-denial or praising its actions''amidst the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) pandemic are ''baseless''.

''We find the action of the Vice President, which is looking at the glass half-empty -- focusing on the shortcomings just to score political brownie points at the expense of the Administration -- totally unwarranted,'' said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a statement on Saturday.

Robredo said Thursday the government showed a ''lack of urgency'' in responding to the COVID-19 situation as the first case was reported in January. That is why, she said, we are feeling the gaps now. The government declared enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila on March 17 but has eased restrictions gradually to restart the economy. As other areas are on general community quarantine, like Metro Manila, Cebu City was placed ECQ as COVID-19 cases have been rising.

Roque said the government has been '' transparent about our lapses as we are about our gains.'' '' As we have said in previous occasions, fighting COVID-19 is  collective effort. It is a whole of government approach,'' added Roque.

''No country in the world would proudly announce that it has been prepared to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic. We therefore welcome inputs from all sectors, including constructive ideas from the political opposition, to improve our delivery of services,'' he added.

Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has been meeting round-the-clock to constantly review its policies and guidelines, where  good and applicable ones are continued while those proven to be ineffective are replaced for better ones.

''This is evident on the number of times we have amended the guidelines. The Office of the President, too, has been submitting weekly reports to Congress, he added.

With regard to the information in the President's reports to Congress, which Robredo described as "kulang," the reports contain the focal points of the different agencies of the government, said Roque.

''The complete details are with the respective Departments, including their Bureaus and Agencies, which have been communicating to the public through regular briefings, interviews, webinars and printed reports/updates. The Vice President or her research staff should have checked this as well,'' Roque said.

Roque added that as concurrent IATF spokesperson, he called on Robredo to simply request the information she wanted from the concerned offices in the Executive Department.

''Also, I enjoin her not to hesitate in sending her valuable inputs, and I will make sure her concrete ideas will be tabled for discussion in future IATF meetings. This is how we work for the common good,'' said Roque. DMS