A former supporter of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Kapuso actor Jason Abalos was really fed up with how the government is handling the pandemic.
In the failing battle against COVID-19, World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its concern about the situation of the Philippines. WHO Western Pacific Region’s Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai was worried about the surge in the country’s COVID-19 cases. Kasai even warned that the average amount of daily cases is nearing the red line.
The so-called red line indicates that the number of cases has exceeded the capacity of healthcare institutions.
With Kasai’s statement, Abalos scrutinized Duterte for once again undermining the lethality of Covid-19 and its variants. The actor sarcastically wrote that this continuous surge of Covid cases is just a “small thing.”
“Maliit na bagay” lang naman to kayo naman. https://t.co/oX9Kkc0K0W
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) April 7, 2021
Abalos was referring to Duterte’s statement last March 15 where he assured the public that the surge of COVID-19 cases is just a “small thing.”
“Kaya natin ito. Itong COVID-19. Maliit na bagay lang ito. Madami tayong nadaanan. Huwag kayong matakot, hindi ko kayo iwanan,” Duterte said in his weekly address to the nation.
Belittling COVID-19 has always been the case in the Philippines. During the start of the pandemic last 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte has issued the country that “everything is well.”
“Kagaya ng SARS, I assure you even without the vaccines, it will just die a natural death. Apparently, itong mga ganito, mga virus, ano ‘to HIV, wala – nawala na. Meron, kokonti na lang,” Duterte said during a media briefing last February 2020.
But the situation worsens. Last March 2020, the Philippines underwent the world’s longest and strictest lockdown. It lasted until June of the same year.
Then in August of the same year, Duterte announced that the country does not have enough resources to continue providing financial assistance to Filipinos.
“Unang una, wala nang makain. Iilan lang ang tao talaga na may savings for a rainy day, while our savings is just good for a drizzle,” said Duterte in a televised speech.
On October 27, still the same year, Duterte ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to procure vaccines as the country is slowly re-opening its economy.
As more Filipinos got infected by the coronavirus, the DOH turned to its former strategy—reminding the public of social distancing. Amid the first peak of cases, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III was in Baclaran, Parañaque City to conduct his Bida Bastonero/Bastonera initiative.
In another tweet of Abalos last April 5, he criticized the government for seeking “inspiration” amid the fight against Covid.
He wrote, “Di pa ba kayo inspired sa dami ng walang trabaho at walang sweldo? Samantalang kayo nasa gobyerno, tuloy-tuloy ang sweldo, iba nga may kickback pa eh. Tsaka dapat kayo nag-eencourage sa mga tao at hindi mo sasabihin ang ‘this is a problem without a solution’.”
Di pa ba kayo inspired sa dami ng walang trabaho at walang sweldo samantalang kayo nasa gobyerno tuloy tuloy ang sweldo, iba nga may kickback pa eh. Tsaka dapat kayo nag eencourage sa mga tao at hindi mo sasabihin ang “this is a problem without a solution”! https://t.co/IlWa8aRmIr
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) April 5, 2021
And now that lockdowns have been imposed once again, transportation has been a struggle for commuters. Abalos shared a clip of traffic czar Bong Nebrija as he reminded a jeepney driver to adhere to the guidelines.
“Ayoko na din!” is what the actor wrote in his tweet last April 6 as he shared the sentiment of Nebrija who is at the end of his rope trying to remind Filipinos about the risks of not following the protocol.
Ayoko na din! https://t.co/3KRQAKcFPP
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) April 6, 2021
Jason Abalos is a former Duterte supporter. After he saw the leadership of Duterte, he became one of his many critics. Now, he uses his platform to address the most critical matters to which the government is failing to give solutions.
