Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday (July 7) said government officials should not blame the public for the rising number of COVID-19 infections.
Robredo called the move self-defeating, as this would give the public the impression that they are the enemies in the fight against the pandemic.
“Mali iyon kasi parang kapag sinisi mo sa tao, parang self-defeating na kaagad, ‘di ba. Parang ang presumption mo na kaagad, masama iyong tao. Ang punto ko lang dito: bakit ba ginagawa natin iyong quarantine? Ginagawa natin iyong quarantine para ligtas iyong mga tao.” Robredo said in a media interview.
“Pero kapag sinabi na natin na iyong tao iyong problema, parang baliktad ito sa dati nating—sa dapat nating ginagawa. Kasi iyong tao nga iyong dapat proteksyunan, bakit sila iyong salarin?” she said.
Instead, the Vice President said the government should take a more humane approach in implementing policies to curb the further spread of COVID-19 in the country.
“Kapag ang presumption mo iyong tao dapat arugain, mas understanding ka. Mas humane iyong pag-implement mo ng mga policies. Halimbawa, may nakita ka sa labas na walang mask. Kapag kinulong mo iyan, self-defeating iyan, eh,” she said.
President Duterte recently called Cebu residents hard-headed as he lamented the increasing number of cases in the province. He said the reason why the cases rose in Cebu because its citizens disregarded the effects of COVID-19 and were “too complacent”.
Robredo also suggested that the administration should convey its policies properly, saying that if the measures the government is taking to prevent the infection are being explained well to the public, they would cooperate.
“Hindi ako naniniwala na tumaas ito dahil pasaway iyong tao. Mayroon namang pakaunti-kaunti na hindi sumusunod pero hindi iyon iyong norm, eh. Iyong norm, iyong tao kapag naiintindihan niya, magko-cooperate siya.
