The continuous surge of Covid-19 cases compelled senators to abolish the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on Tuesday, March 23.
However, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the idea of terminating the IATF, explaining that the agency is not at fault for the number of positive cases.
“Tanggapin natin o hindi, nag-mutate ang mga virus at hindi naman siguro kasalanan ng IATF na nag-mutate itong mga virus sa pamamaraan na mas nakakahawa sila,” explained Roque during the briefing.
Despite the cases reaching 7k+ per day, Roque insisted that the government did not fail its Covid response. He insists that the Duterte Administration did “excellent” in handling the pandemic.
“Walang makakapantay pagdating sa human capital ng IATF…Hindi naman po isang taon na ganito karami ang kaso natin. Itong buwan lang po ng Marso tumaas ‘yan. Na-manage po natin ‘yan, na-pababa po natin ‘yan at nabuksan natin ang ekonomiya. Comparative to the rest of the world, we have done very well,” he said.
With Roque still in denial, Netizens disagreed with his latest statement.
“Hindi kasalanan ng IATF na nag-mutate ang virus”
Definitely – but is it just me or sobrang nakakatawa yung sentence na to? 😆 https://t.co/CoLa8QDpfL
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) March 23, 2021
A twitter personality roasted the still in-denial Roque by wishing that everything is very well in the country when it is the opposite.
Sanaol very well. 🙊 https://t.co/I0jm3g5Isa
— CRYPTO STORM (@web3plannet) March 23, 2021
Another Netizen concluded that as long as the government does not admit its incompetence, the country will not go anywhere in beating the virus.
https://twitter.com/ur_my_starr/status/1374269647818797058
A twitter personality Seth compared Roque to a defensive friend who still defends his friends to avoid embarrassment despite the obvious failures.
https://twitter.com/sethandrian/status/1374275279430897668
A celebrated Filipino photographer, Niccolo Cosme, got mad by Roque’s recent statement. Cosme said that the Secretary is delusional to ignore the reality about IATF’s failures to uphold its mandate.
Tangina sobrang hibang tong hayop na ‘to!!! Unbelievable!!!! https://t.co/jASGwjADOQ
— Niccolò 💕💗🌸 (@niccolocosme) March 23, 2021
Roque, also compared the Philippines to other countries that received backlash from Netizens.
A Netizen ridiculed the Secretary for comparing the country to the rest of the world.
“Comparative to the rest of the world…”
What world are you comparing us to Harry? Sa mundo ng Korekorekok??? 🤡 https://t.co/GVBmNqVE76
— Clarkie (@CoachClarkeRoi) March 23, 2021
A Netizen pointed out that while the rest of the world is conducting widespread vaccination, the Philippine government gets to use the vaccines for its political gains, with no travel restrictions despite the surge of positive cases.
The rest of the world: widespread vaccination, safely starting to open borders, decreasing number of cases of not completely eradicated disease
Us: politicized vaccination, open for travel despite spike in case numbers, no end in sight
Very well my 🍑 https://t.co/oYdenwj56p
— Leandro Magno (@magnomagyes) March 23, 2021
Jillian Ita-as, a singer, questioned the government for prioritizing the 2022 elections over the current situation.
The rest of the world is getting vaccinated. Meanwhile this mf govt is spending money for public healthcare over ELECTION CAMPAIGN MATERIALS. Brb gonna SCREAM https://t.co/lgVSf009zw
— Jillian Ita-as (@jillianitaas) March 23, 2021
With the government not willing to abolish the IATF while the cases continue to spike, a Netizen shared that the Administration has different priorities over the pandemic situation.
Just shows that they have different priorities. If handling the pandemic well is their goal, they would never say that. https://t.co/eVHovi5n4H
— ❤️HeaRty.PH (@heartyphblog) March 23, 2021
The government only takes credit when something good is happening, has [always] been blinded to its incompetence. A Netizen pointed this out after the spike of cases, and the Palace still did not want to abolish the IATF.
When something good happens, they credit it to themselves. But God forbid that the situation gets worse, it’s the fault of the people and the virus itself. Wow! 🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/Q7LBtL3SFu
— B (@braineechugs) March 23, 2021
Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos called for the abolition of the IATF and suggested that the government appoint health experts to give the country a fighting chance against Covid-19.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III also agreed with Marcos, claiming that the IATF is the “gross incompetence” of the Department of Health in handling the pandemic.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, has suggested replacing the members of the IATF with public health officers rather than military officers.
