Robredo follows up on Malacañang action on some of her proposals to improve COVID-19 response

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday (July 19) made public some of her recommendations to improve the government’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic that the Malacañang has failed to act on.

This was after Roque downplayed Robredo’s suggestions, saying all her inputs have either long been recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) or implemented by the government already.

“In fact, private iyong letter ko kay Secretary Roque. Pero kapag sinabi niyang ginagawa na nila, palagay ko kailangan kong i-make public para sabihin na hindi totoo, hindi totoo na ginagawa na kasi kung titingnan ito… hindi pa ito ginagawa,” Robredo said during her weekly radio show on RMN.

While Robredo noted that some of her proposals have already been incorporated in the policies to combat COVID-19, she said there were still a number of recommendations that the government has yet act on since she sent her eight-page letter addressed to Roque last June 30.

Some of Robredo’s recommendations include:

* Including an epidemic curve in the daily report of confirmed cases, and coming out with details on the status of procured PPEs, test kits, and other items necessary in supporting our healthcare system;

* reporting on how funds and loans are being spent for the country’s response efforts;

* publishing the status of various government programs, with target number of beneficiaries, actual number of beneficiaries reaches, target amount disbursed to target beneficiaries, and actual amount disbursed to households;

* continuing the weekly report to the public, even after the expiration of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, and doing so in a more structured manner, which must include a summary of the week’s targets and gains, and how these affect the overall plan;

* aiding the transportation sector by shifting to a service contracting system for PUVs, providing support for public utility drivers, streamlining the bus system, and installing bike lanes;
* supporting MSMEs and exploring ways to go local with essentials like N95 masks.

Meanwhile, the Vice President also disclosed that she has written to IATF-EID Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., to reiterate the need to conduct swab testing for locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) before they are cleared to go home to their respective provinces.

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