Palace insists gov’t has been transparent on coronavirus: COVID fight requires collective effort

By Prince Golez

Malacañang scored Vice President Leni Robredo’s claim that the government was “in denial” about its shortcomings in addressing the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis, saying that she opted to look at the glass “half-empty.”

In a statement Saturday afternoon, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed as “baseless” and “unfortunate” the remarks of Robredo that the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is in a state of self-denial or praising its actions.

“We have been as transparent about our lapses as we are about our gains, and as we have said in previous occasions, fighting Covid-19 is a collective effort. It is a whole-of-government approach,” said Roque.

“The Executive has no monopoly of good ideas and deeds and we have to stress that the effects of Covid-19 have been unprecedented. 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 noted that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has been meeting “round-the-clock” to review the effectiveness of its policies and guidelines.

With regard to Robredo’s statement that the Duterte’s weekly reports to Congress were not enough, the Palace official asked the Vice President to check the complete details with the respective departments, including their bureaus and agencies, which have been communicating to the public through regular briefings, interviews, webinars and printed reports.

“As the concurrent IATF Spokesperson, I call on VP 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,” he said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)