Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday defended his government’s policy to fight its COVID-19 outbreak and said early intervention had prevented as many as 1.3 million to 3.5 million infections.
Speaking during his annual address to the nation before a sparse audience of lawmakers in Quezon City, as the country’s cases grew to 82,040 and nearly 2,000 deaths, Duterte said a lengthy lockdown that was one of the world’s strictest might have hurt the economy, but had kept numbers in check.
The Philippines eased restrictions on June 1, but cases have since quadrupled and critics say the country was too slow in detecting infections due to weak testing, which Duterte acknowledged started slowly.
Photo: AP
“To me, even if the numbers were much lower, it would still be and would have been worth the sacrifice we made,” he said of the measures.
“Life first before everything,” he said, adding “we initially encountered difficulties ramping up our testing capacity.”
Duterte also reiterated that he would not allow schools to reopen for face-to-face classes until a vaccine was available and had earlier believed one could be ready as early as September.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Robinson Ninal Jr / Presidential Photographers Division
He said he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) four days ago to make the Philippines a top priority once Beijing had developed its own vaccine for COVID-19.
“I made a plea to President Xi if they have the vaccine can they allow us to be one of the first ... so that we can normalize as fast as possible,” he said.
He also said that he had no choice but to treat disputes in the South China Sea as diplomatic endeavors, because the alternative was to go to war with China.
Defending his government’s decision not to press a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which went in favor of the Philippines in a case against China, Duterte said China was in possession of territory that the nation did not have the capability to challenge militarily, adding “we cannot go to war.”
However, he also promised not relent in a bloody war on drugs that has alarmed the international community and said the Philippines “will not dodge our obligation” to human rights, adding that included protecting people from drugs and corruption.
“Do not do it in my country because I will really kill you that is a commitment,” he said, warning drug dealers.
The president began his speech by criticizing Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, an opposition lawmaker, for questioning his push to go against the elites.
He also threatened the closure or government expropriation of telecom firms for what he called “lousy” services, and gave providers until December to improve.
He pushed lawmakers to back corporate tax cuts and targeted support for pandemic-hit industries as part of a recovery plan.
He also sought to revitalize his 8 trillion peso (US$162.44 billion) infrastructure program to lift the economy that is facing its deepest contraction in three decades.
“A dream of prosperity for our country was snapped by a pandemic,” Duterte said.
Duterte also called on banks to extend loan repayments without incurring charges and asked landlords to renegotiate lease agreements with tenants hit by the pandemic.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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